Karura Forest #37: Pining for a Cache?
The cache, a small black-taped push-topped plastic pot, is hidden at around thigh height in this pine tree some 15m off a short small trail running southwest from the southern corner of the Amani Gardens.
The Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico. It is a versatile, fast-growing, medium-density softwood, suitable for a wide range of uses. Its silviculture is highly developed, having been built on a firm foundation of extensive research, observation and practice and is considered a model for growers of other plantation species.
It is the most widely planted pine in the world, valued for rapid growth and excellent lumber and pulp qualities, but faces serious threats from fungal disease in its small natural range with up to 90% of trees infected.
It grows up to30m high in the wild, but up to 60m when cultivated in optimum conditions, with upward pointing branches and a rounded top. Leaves ('needles') are bright green, slender and, 8–15cm long and with a blunt tip. Cones are 7–17 cm (2.8–6.7 in) long, brown, ovoid (egg-shaped), and usually set asymmetrically on a branch, attached at an oblique angle. Bark is fissured and dark grey to brown.
The modern tree is vastly different from the native tree of Monterey. In plantations it is commonly planted at 4m x 4m spacing on a wide variety of landscapes from flat to moderately steep hills. Selec
tive breeding, extensive use of Growth Factor seedlings, and careful pruning mean that forests planted in the last 20-30 years are of superior wood with very straight tall trunks and without twin leaders (two trunks). The lower 2/3 of a mature tree is branch- ( and hence knot-) free. This cache-bearing specimen has 4 trunks - the result of coppicing. In its natural state, the wood is of poor quality: twisted, knotty and full of sap/resin - only really suitable for firewood, but the modern product is very different.
It is a species adapted to cope with fire disturbance and the cones are serotinous, i.e. they remain closed until opened by the heat of a forest fire, when the abundant seeds are then discharged to regenerate on the burned forest floor. They may also burst open in hot weather.
In South Africa and other areas with scarce water, the tree is a threat as it has remarkable roots which reach downward as far as physically permitted by subterranean conditions growing up to 12m long or more. Efforts to remove large quantities of the non-native tree in areas of South Africa have led to significant increases in accessible water.
Uses:
It holds screws and nails well and takes paint and stain without difficulty - and modern kiln dried timber is very easy to work and has a pleasant resinous fragrance. It is brittle when bent, and does not have the same load-bearing features as some other pines.
It is used in house construction as weatherboards, particle boards (for flooring), posts, beams or or plywood, in fencing, retaining walls, and for concrete formers.
It is chipped to make particle board sheets (for flooring); other sheet products include hardboard, softboard and plywood.
In 1958, New Zealand boat designer Des Townson started building 186 eleven-foot, cold-moulded Zephyr-class yachts, using Pinus radiata. In 2011 these hand-built boats fetched very high prices and were generally in excellent condition.
The bark is also used as a substrate for potting and re-potting orchids.
Pinus radiata is the most common species of Christmas tree in Australia and New Zealand.
To reach the cache location:
Enter the forest using the main Limuru Road entrance (Gate A) @ S01 14.827 E36 48.951 and after paying the entry and parking fee, proceed along the main access road, turning right at the barrier to reach the Amani Gardens / River Cafe parking area @ S01 14.577 E36 49.235.
This cache together with GC6BM9H Karura Forest #18: Amani Gardens and GC4PD8X Karura Forest #2: Lily Lake may be easily accessed from the parking area.
See here for background info on the forest and useful links and here for Karura maps.