41. Portarlington Pine
Bournemouth is famed for its conifers, few can compete with the magnificent Monterey pine a cone’s throw from the sea.
The heathland on which Bournemouth is built favours conifers with a penchant for the seaside. Maritime pines and Monterey cypresses are much in evidence, but a conifer that engenders particular admiration is a magnificent, much branched Monterey pine marking the junction of Portarlington and Clarendon Roads. It must have once graced the garden of a grand Victorian villa, now long gone and replaced by mid twentieth century flats.
Species details
Monterey pine
Pinus radiata
Where to find it
Arlington House, 11 Clarendon Rd, Bournemouth BH4 8AJ
///dimes.crowd.wrong | 50.718265, -1.894875
Monterey pine notes
Like Monterey cypresses (such as the Belvedere Cypress in Plymouth), Monterey pines occur in a very small area of California near the city of Monterey. They flourish in foggy Pacific coast conditions, and do well in coastal areas of these Atlantic islands too. They are one of the more recognisable pines: large, robust trees with cones that cling on for years visible in high branches, but their most characteristic feature, in mature trees at least, is their coarse, deeply fissured bark.
