Evolution and biogeography of Pinus radiata, with a proposed revision of its quaternary history

Abstract

The genus Pinus evolved about 100 million years ago, spreading from centres in eastern North America and western Europe throughout middle latitudes of the supercontinent Laurasia. Many early subsections of Pinus are recorded from fossil remains ofthis period, but it is not until the early Tertiary, when the genus was fragmented by changing global climates and continental tectonics into latitudinal refugia, that secondary centres of origin appeared. From one of these areas, now Mexico and Central America, the subsection Oocarpae is thought to have arisen. This subsection includes the California closed-cone pines, P. radiata D. Don, P. muricata D. Don, and P. attenuata Lemmon, which evolved 15-25 million years ago as they migrated northward to California from Central America. Pinus radiata appears to have occupied coastal or nearcoastal habitats throughout its history in the California region.

Citation

Millar, Constance I. 1999. Evolution and biogeography of Pinus radiata, with a proposed revision of its quaternary history. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 29(3):335-365