Pinus caribaea (Caribbean pine).

P. caribaea, especially P. caribaea var. hondurensis, is widely planted throughout the American, Asian, and African tropics and subtropics. It is fast growing and has very versatile wood. P. caribaea var. hondurensis is the most productive of the three varieties of P. caribaea. P. caribaea var. hondurensis grows on a wide variety of sites in the tropics and subtropics at altitudes below 800 m (Whitmore and Liegel, 1980), although it also grows well up to altitudes of 1500 m or more. Worldwide interest has been focused on rapid-growing selections and provenances of the variety hondurensis. It has been found that var. hondurensis crossed naturally with P. oocarpa, and P. oocarpa var. ochoterenai produces progeny that have better form and are faster growers than their parents (Perry, 1991). P. elliottii crossed with P. caribaea var. hondurensis has made a major contribution to the success of commercial forestry in Queensland, Australia. These successes have also stimulated interest in hybrids in other countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Fiji.

Longitudinal study of Caribbean pine elucidates the role of 4-allylanisole in patterns of chemical resistance to bark beetle attack

Southern pine beetles (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann) and symbiotic fungi are associated with mass mortality in stands of Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea Morelet). This study provides a 12.7-year assessment of semiochemical mediation between southern pine beetle and Caribbean pine in relation to concentrations of 4-allylanisole (estragole, methyl chavicol) and monoterpenes measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in different seasons in premontane and coastal pine stands of Belize and Guatemala. Individual trees and stands with >2.5% (relative mass %) of 4-allylanisole in the xylem oleoresin exhibited significantly less beetle-induced mortality than those with <2.5%. Changes in relative levels of 4-allylanisole and monoterpenes during this study are consistent with seasonal temperature and cumulative water deficit effects and suggest bark beetle attack of P. caribaea may intensify in the future.