Lacebark pine Pinus bungeana

Aside from its needles and cones, the lacebark pine is not very much like a pine tree at all. It has a multi-stemmed trunk, an almost bushy shape and multi-coloured bark, for which it is rightly and widely admired.

The lacebark pine was first discovered in the wild by westerners in 1831 in China near Beijing, or Peking as it was then known. Within 15 years it had been introduced to Britain by the botanist Robert Fortune who made his name collecting unusual and rare plants from Asia.

Pinus bungeana is widely cultivated in China for its beautiful bark which, like that of the London plane (Platanus x hispanica), peels off in flat, round scales. This reveals white patches, which then turn a succession of bright colours, including yellow, various shades of green, red, purple and brown. This process is ongoing and occurs at random across the tree leaving a patchwork of colours all year round.

For this reason, the lacebark pine is planted largely for its ornamental value and in its native China can often be found in the grounds of Buddhist temples. A hardy but slow growing tree, it typically has multiple stems or trunks and as a result has few, if any, horizontal branches. Reaching a maximum height of 25m (85ft) in the wild, but usually somewhat shorter in cultivation, it has a rounded crown, unlike most other pines. Indeed, its multi-stemmed base gives it something of a bushy appearance and it can often be as wide as it is tall.