Mason Heberling

In honor of the cool, new Tropical Forest Cuba that opened yesterday at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, here’s a specimen collected in Cuba 115 years ago today.  This pine specimen of Pinus elliottii, known as slash pine or Cuban pine, was collected by George Russell Shaw in the Isles of Pines, Cuba (now known as Isla de la Juventud).  Shaw was an influential botanist working at the Arnold Arboretum (Harvard) who specialized in pines.   
 
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has many specimens from Cuba.  Curator of Botany Otto Jennings and others went on expeditions to Cuba in the early 1900s, and many specimens are now preserved at the Carnegie Museum and elsewhere.  The Carnegie Museum herbarium includes 4,068 specimens from Cuba, of which 54 are type specimens (meaning they are associated with the description of a species new to science). 
 
Learn more about the plants and culture of Cuba at Tropical Forest Cuba at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens!

Above: Publication resulting from expeditions to the Isles of Pines, written by one the first curators of botany Otto Jennings, who researched the plants of Cuba. 631 specimens from Cuba collected by Jennings reside in the Carnegie Museum herbarium today. 

These Pennsylvania specimens shown above were collected sometime in December (exact day unknown):  White Pine (Pinus strobus) in Kittanning in 1926 and Scots Pine (or “Scotch Pine”; Pinus sylvestris) from cultivation in Avalon in 1902.  Both of these species are cultivated and used as decorative trees for the holidays. Many evergreen conifer species are cultivated in the US for decorative use during the holidays.  Needle length, softness, retention, color, and even scent vary by species or variety. Similarly, branching patterns and branch strength differs. Plus, some species grow faster and easier than others, which means some species are cheaper.
 
Did you know that Pennsylvania is one of the top states for Christmas tree farms?  In fact, southwestern PA’s very own Indiana County is known as the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.”  According to the Indiana County Christmas Tree Growers’ Association, the title arose in 1956, when an estimated 700,000 trees were cut that year in the county. 

Believe it or not, there are no CM specimens from Indiana County collected in the month of December.  This isn't all that surprising, as most specimens aren't collected in the winter.
 
Before farms began cultivating trees for that purpose in the early 20th century, people just went to the woods to cut down their tree for the holidays.   Some of the earliest Christmas tree farms in the US started in Indiana County as early as 1918.  Many farms in the region turned their fields into Christmas tree farms as it became profitable. By 1960, more than 1 million trees were harvested per year in Indiana County alone.  The harvest in Pennsylvania has declined for several reasons, including increased popularity of artificial trees and consumer interest in Frasier fir trees (Abies fraseri; native to the Southern Appalachians and grows slower in PA than farms in North Carolina).  However, Pennsylvania is still among the top five states in terms of both number of working Christmas tree farms and trees harvested. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 31,577 acres in Pennsylvania are used as Christmas tree plantations. Many of the Christmas tree lots in southwestern PA get their trees from farms in Indiana county.