86. Pesto Pine
A splendid double-trunked stone pine makes for a surprising sight on the Wirral.
Salubrious West Kirby has a very surprising tree. A V-shaped stone pine, the source of edible pine nuts, is one of England’s most northerly. It frames a view of Hilbre Island from the top of Grange Road where it curves round to descend into town. The famous pine once grew in the garden of Abbey Manor, but the road cut through in the 1920s, beaching the tree on the pavement, where it thrives to this day.
Species details
Stone pine
Pinus pinea
Where to find it
Grange Road, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 4ET
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Stone pine notes
Stone pines are the pines of Italy. They have broad and dense umbrella-shaped crowns held aloft by craggy trunks. Mature trees will produce rotund cones from where (in Italy at least) pine nuts, the key ingredient in pesto, are extracted. They are not restricted to Italy however, their distinctive silhouettes will be familiar to those who have sought shelter against blistering Mediterranean sun from Spain to Greece. In these islands, they are a more recent introduction, but have been around for centuries, particularly in more southern locations, and are being increasingly planted in towns and cities where they will, hopefully, thrive in urban heat islands.
I'm so used to seeing these in Rome, but here in the UK - wow! I loved this and so happy to have discovered your Substack via Lev Parikian. Thank you
Beautiful specimen especially as you say for that far North in England. They are common sight in SW France in Bordeaux region and vineyards often have similar specimens of same size and stature. They have coped well with both intense summer heat of recent years and the intense cold of the Continental winter that sends Polish/Eastern European high pressure to SW France. I have heard the bark crack/contract on cold nights of -15c plus. Thanks for sharing.