The Arthur Ross Pinetum in Central Park

By Meryl Redisch

In the four years that I worked in Central Park as an Urban Park Ranger, I always looked forward to one special December tour that showcased a grove of pine trees. The Arthur Ross Pinetum, located north of the Great Lawn and off of Central Park West and 81st street is an evergreen sanctuary that still remains one of Manhattan Island's best kept secrets! This early winter tour told the story of the Pinetum and the landscape history of Central Park . As one walks around the Pinetumm with over 600 specimen of pine trees, it's amazing to think that this place began with just 35 white pines only 30 years ago!

In 1971, Arthur Ross, a native New Yorker, met with Central Park horticulturist, Cornelius M. O'Shea, to discuss the feasibility of replanting evergreens in the park, not only to hide an unsightly maintenance building which stood where the Old Reservoir once was, but also to return pine trees to the park, particularly to the West Drive.

Prior to the Olmstead-Vaux Greensward Plan of 1858, no pine trees existed on the designated site. Fifteen years later, records show that the following pines were planted : Austrian Pine(P.nigra) , Corsican Pine,(P.nigra,var.poiretiana) Swiss Mountain Pine(P. mugo), Scotch Pine(P.sylvestris), Jeffrey Pine(P.jeffreyi), Ponderosa Pine(P.ponderosa), Pitch Pine(P.rigida), Balkan or Macedonian Pine(P.peuce), White Pine(P.strobus) and Dwarf White Pine(P.strobus,var.nana)Red or Norway Pine(P.resinosa)

Around 1910, a change took place in park policy. When pines died, instead of replacing them with the same species or substituting a different species, the pines were replaced by broadleaf deciduous trees .For over fifty years, no pines except for Austrian pines were planted in Central Park. White Pines and Himalayan Pines began to rebound through the efforts of O'Shea, however, it wasn't until nearly ten years later that Central Park would have year-round color once again!

Today, an easy walk in the Pinetum takes one through a global array of textures, sizes, shapes and varying colors of green. For example, the coastal range of California from San Francisco south to Baja and the Mexican border are home to Pinus coulteri, Big-cone Pine. The cones are enormous compared to most others, with a span of 10 to 14 inches in length and 6 inches wide and buds which are large, stout and resinous. Pinus ayacahuite is the Mexican White Pine found on the mountain slopes and at the head of ravines in Central America north into all of Mexico.

Or, how about Pinus cembroides, a Pinon Pine, often referred to as "Mexican Nut Pine." Its heavy, knotted wood is used as local building material for fencing, mine timber and firewood. Many Asian varieties are represented here, including: Pinus bungeana or Lacebark pine. This tree, named for Dr. Alexander von Bunge who discovered it in 1831, was always a favorite with visitors due to it's long, slender branches and beautiful bark patterns of silver blue to greenish blue to light brown and white. In its native country, China, this trees is planted in the vicinity of burial grounds and temples.

On the other side of the world are pines confined to the mountain areas on the Balkan peninsula. Pinus peuce, pronounce "peu-see," is a slow-growing tree with short ascending branches that form a compact, pyramidal shape.

Another European pine is Pinus cembra or Swiss Stone Pine. This is a tall tree which lives above 5,000 feet and is found throughout the Alps. The wood has many local uses and the tasty seeds are used to enhance delicate pastries in Europe and Asia.

Finally, one of my favorites is Sciadopitys verticillata, Umbrella Pine. This unusual looking tree reminds me of a plastic prop from some south pacific play! Actually, this is not a true pine since the needles are in whorls, not clusters. I like this tree because of it's quirkiness and dark, shiny leaves.

The Arthur Ross Pinetum is designed so that pines from various geographical parts of the world are grouped together. The aforementioned pines are only a handful of those growing in the Pineutm. Below is a more complete listing:

I. EASTERN AMERICA (north of Mexico):
White Pine, Jack Pine, Table-mountain pine, Sand Pine, Red Pine, Shortleaf Pine, Slash Pine, Spruce Pine, Longleaf Pine, itch Pine, Pond Pine, Loblolly Pine and Virginia Scrub Pine.

II. WESTERN AMERICA (north of MEXICO)
White-bark Pine, Bristle-cone Pine, Foxtail Pine, Two-leaved Nut Pine, Limber Pine, Sugar Pine, Single-leaf Pine, Western White Pine, Four-leaved Nut Pine, Knob-cone Pine, Logepole Pine, Big-cone Pine, Jeffrey's Pine, Obispo Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Monterey Pine, Diger Pine, Torrey Pine, Mason & Stockwell Washoe Pine

III. MEXICO (and most of Central America)
Mexican White Pine, Pinon Pine, Pinus culminicola( no common name), Nelson Pine, Pince's Pine, Pinus strobiformis(no common name) Ciapes Pine, Arizona Pine, Chihuahua Pine, Coppers Pine, Pinus douglasiana, Pinus oaxacana, Pinus oocarpa, Pinus tenuifolia, Pinus herrerai,(no common name) Lumholtz Pine, montezuma Pine, Jelecote Pine, Pringle Pine, False White Pine, Aztec Pine, Smoothleaved Pine, Lawson's Pine, hartwg Pine, Gregg's Pine, Apache Pine, Durango Pine

IV. CARIBBEAN AREA, SOUTHERN FLORIDA, EASTERN CENTRAL AMERICA
Caribbean Pine, cuban, Florida Slash Pine, Cuban Pine, Pinus tropicalis(no common name)

V. MEDITERRANEAN
Swiss Stone Pine, Balkan Pine, Calbrian Pine, Canary Pine, Swiss Mountain Pine, Mugo Pine, Australian Pine, Maritime Pine, Italian Stone Pine: Umbrella Pine, pitzunda Pine, Heldreich Pine, Aleppo Pine, Pinus eldarica (no common name)

VI NORTHERN EURASIA
Japanese Stone Pine, Siberian Pine, Scotch Pine,

VII SOUTHEASTERN ASIA
Chinese White Pine, Lace-bark Pine, Ghilghoza Pine, Himalayan Pine, Japanese White Pine,Korean Pine, Pinus kwangtungensis, Pinus morrisoncola, Pinus fenzeliana, Pinus dalatensis, Pinus funebris(no comon name), Japanese Red Pine, Luzon Pine, Khasia Pine, Okinawa Pine, Masson Pine, Merkus Pine, Yunnan Pine, Chinese Pine, JapaneseBlack Pine, Formosa Pine, Chir Pine

Another aspect to the Pinetum is the nursery just south of its western tip. In fact, Central Park had two nurseries where the bulk of the five million trees, shrubs and vines planted in the park between 1858 and 1873 came from. The nursery associated with the Pinetum is part of a project organized by Arthur Ross and Dr. David F. Karnofsky, forest geneticist of the Cary Arboretum, a division of the NY Botanical Gardens, located in upstate New York. Pine seedlings, grown in the urban nursery of Central Park, will be grafted with root stock from the rural New York arboretum, to produce trees that will thrive in the urban environment. Other research projects involve taking seedlings from all parts of the world, growing them in the nursery and then planting them in different park locations to learn which ones do best under varying conditions.

The special December Pinetum tour always reminded me of several things: I was reminded to observe things closely, carefully and thoughtfully; I was reminded that, even on an island of over 7 million people, I could still find a safe hiding place to stand for a few minutes of alone time. I was reminded of the quiet beauty of a winters' day. And I was reminded about the connection we have to each other and to our natural world.