Caribbean Pine
Pinus caribaea plantation at Amarkantak, India
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Subfamily: Pinoideae Genus: Pinus Subgenus: (Pinus) Species: P. (P.) caribaea
Binomial name
Pinus (Pinus) caribaea Morelet
Synonyms
Pinus hondurensis Sénéclauze (but see text)

The Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea) is a hard pine native to Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The species has three distinct varieties, one very distinct and treated as a separate species by some authors:

• Pinus caribaea var. caribaea – Endemic to western Cuba (Pinar del Rio Province and the Isle of Youth)
• Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Grisebach) W.H.Barrett & Golfari – Bahamas Pine. Endemic to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis (Sénéclauze) W.H.Barrett & Golfari – Nicaragua Pine. Native to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Quintana Roo state of Mexico.

While the species as a whole is not threatened, the typical variety of Cuba has markedly declined due to deforestation and is now considered a Vulnerable species by the IUCN.

References

• Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus caribaea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 19 February 2008.
• Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus caribaea var. caribaea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 19 February 2008.

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