Japanese name: アイグロマツ（間黒松） Scientific name:Pinus × densithunbergii
[Overview]
A natural hybrid of Kuromatsu and Akamatsu, with a form intermediate between the two. It is found in areas where both grow together.
An evergreen coniferous tree.
The bark cracks into a tortoiseshell pattern as the tree grows.
The leaves are needle-shaped, about 10 cm long, borne in bundles of two, and semicircular in cross section.
Both male and female flowers are borne at the tips of new branches. The male flowers are borne in large numbers toward the base of the branch, and the female flowers are borne at the branch tip as small reddish-purple pine-cone-shaped structures.
The cones (pine cones) ripen in autumn of the following year. The seeds have wings.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by layering, or by grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site. Its roots host symbiotic fungi that need oxygen, so aerated soil is necessary.
It dislikes transplanting when mature.
Care is needed against damage by the pine wood nematode.
[Notes]
Those close to Kuromatsu are sometimes called Ai-guromatsu, those close to Akamatsu Ai-akamatsu, and those completely intermediate Ainoko-matsu.
