Beyond Pinus Pinea: Trees for the Mediterranean

We’ve had horrendous wildfires last summer where 17’000 hectares (42’000 acres) of pine forests burned up within a few days. Then, this winter, we’ve had endless rain with widespread flooding and finally, last week, a windstorm with gusts of up to 160 km/h over several hours. Seeing the violence of the fires and seeing all those uprooted parasol pines these last few days, I kept thinking: Maybe (re-)planting pines down here is not the best of ideas.

Pinus pinea, the Mediterranean stone pine (pin parasol) is native to this region since Roman times and is one of those iconic “Mediterranean” trees. They are incredibly beautiful when fully grown. Their shade is wonderful, they are evergreen, they grow quickly and they can withstand heat and drought very well.

BUT:

• they contain lots of resin and are a real fire hazard
• they have a shallow root system and do not stand up to high winds in rain soaked soil
• they can harbor processionary caterpillars

So I wondered what other trees would do well here and had a bit of a look-around online and in the neighborhood. I ended up with a long list of trees that should do well here, once established. Of course there are even more but I purposely didn’t list any trees that seem to specifically need acidic soil, a continental/mountain/coastal climate, or lots of watering to thrive or that aren’t really frost-hardy. I didn’t go so far as to check the root system of each tree, but the list is long and can serve as inspiration for further research:

• Abies pinsapo (Spanish fir, 20m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Acacia dealbata and others (Yellow mimosa, 4-5m, fast growth, can be invasive, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Acer monspessulanum (Montpellier maple, 5m, slow growth, deciduous)
• Aesculus hippocastanum (Horse chestnut, 20m, deciduous)
• Albizia julibrissin (Silk tree, 4-8m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Alnus cordata(incana (Italian/Grey alder, 10-25m, fast growth, deciduous)
• Arbutus andrachne/andrachnoides/thuretiana (Greek strawberry tree, 5-8m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Arbutus unedo (Madrone/strawberry tree, evergreen, flowers & fruit)
• Broussonetia papyrifera (Paper mulberry, 8m, fast growth, deciduous)
• Caragana arborescens (Siberian pea shrub, 5m, deciduous, flowers)
• Cedrus libani (Lebanese cedar, 20-50m, evergreen)
• Celtis australis (Mediterranean hackberry (“Micocoulier” in French), 20m, deciduous)
• Cercis siliquastrum/canadensis (Judas tree/Eastern Redbud, 6-10m, slow, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Chilopsis linearis (Desert Willow, 4m, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Chitalpa tashkentensis (Desert Willow, 3-7m, fast growth, deciduous, flowers)
• Cornus mas (European cornel, 4m, deciduous, fruit)
• Corylus colurna (Turkish hazel, 20m, deciduous, fruit)
• Crataegus azarolus (Mediterranean medlar, 8m, slow growth, deciduous, fruit)
• Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn, 7-10m, deciduous)
• Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress, 10-14m, evergreen)
• Cupressus macrocarpa (Lambert Cypress, 6-12m, fast growth, evergreen)
• Cydonia oblonga (Quince tree, 5m, deciduous, fruit)
• Cytisus battandieri (Moroccan broom, 4m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Diospyros kaki (Chinese persimmon, 5m, deciduous, fruit)
• Eleagnus angustifolia (Russian olive/Silverberry, 5m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Eriobotrya japonica (Loquat, 6m, evergreen, fruit)
• Eucalyptus parvifolia/dalrympleana/nicophyla/ligustrina/scoparia (9-18m, fast growth, evergreen)
• Fraxinus angustifolia (Narrow-leaved ash, 10-15m, decidous)
• Fraxinus ornus (Manna ash, 7-9m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust, 10-20m, slow growth, deciduous)
• Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper, 5m, fast growth, evergreen)
• Juniperus turbinata/squamata/virginiana (Mediterranean juniper, 8-17m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Koelreuteria paniculata Coral Sun (Goldenrain tree, 6m, fast growth, deciduous, flowers)
• Laurus nobilis (Bay laurel, 6m, evergreen, flowers and edible leaves)
• Ligustrum lucidum (Chinese privet, 7-10m, evergreen, needs deep soil, scented flowers)
• Maclura pomifera (Osage orange, 12m, decidous)
• Magnolia grandiflora (Southern magnolia, 4-15m, evergreen, needs deep soil, scented flowers)
• Melia azedarach (Chinaberry tree, 9m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Morus alba/nigra/fruitless/kagayamae (Mulberry various, 10-12m, deciduous, some have fruit)
• Olea europea (Olive tree, 9m, evergreen, fruit)
• Paulownia elongata (13m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Phillyrea latifolia (Mock privet, 6m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Photinia serratifolia (Chinese photinia, 5m, evergreen, flowers)
• Pinus nigra/ssp nigra/salzmannii (Austrian pine, 25m, fast growth, evergreen)
• Pistacia vera/atlantica/chinensis/terebinthus (Pistachio tree various, 5-15m, slow growth, deciduous)
• Pittosporum tobira (Mock orange, 5m, evergreen, scented flowers)
• Platanus acerifolia/hispanica (London plane, 30-35m, fast growth, deciduous)
• Platanus orientalis (Oriental plane, 30m, fast growth, deciduous)
• Poliothyrsis sinensis (Chinese pearl-bloom tree, 6m, fast growth, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Ptelea trifoliata (Wafer ash, 6m, slow growth, deciduous)
• Punica granatum (Pomegranate, 4-5m, slow growth, deciduous, fruit)
• Prunus amygdalus (Almond tree, 5m, deciduous, flowers & fruit)
• Prunus armeniaca (Abricot tree, 6m, deciduous, fruit)
• Prunus cerasifera (Cherry plum, 5-8m, deciduous, flowers and fruit)
• Prunus avium/cerasus (Cherry tree, 4-6m, deciduous, fruit)
• Prunus persica/nucipersica (Peach/Nectarine tree, 4-5m, deciduous, fruit)
• Prunus mahaleb (Mahaleb cherry, 6m, deciduous, flowers)
• Pyrus pyraster (European wild pear, 15m, slow, deciduous, flowers & fruit)
• Quercus ilex (Holly oak, 10-12m, very slow growth, evergreen)
• Quercus pubescent (Downy oak, 20m, slow growth, deciduous)
• Quercus coccifera (Garrigue oak, 3-6m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Quercus suber (Cork oak, 10-15, slow growth, evergreen)
  Note: Oaks can harbor Oak processionary caterpillars
• Rhamnus alaternus (Mediterranean buckthorn, 4-5m, evergreen)
• Robinia pseudoacacia (False acacia, 8-20m, fast growth, can be invasive, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Sorbus torminalis/aria (Wild service tree/Whitebeam, 12-15m, deciduous, flowers & fruit)
• Tamarix gallica/ramossisima/tetrandra (Salt cedar, 4-6m, fast growth, deciduous, flowers)
• Taxus baccata (Yew, 4m, slow growth, evergreen)
• Tilia cordata/tomentosa (Linden/Lime, 25m, deciduous, scented flowers)
• Ulmus pumila (Siberian elm, 15m, fast growth, deciduous)
• Ziziphus jujuba (Jujube, 4-7m, deciduous, fruit)

if you have experience with these or other trees in the region, please let me know!