Mugho pine (pinus mugo)

This is one of the first stations where the Mugho pine managed to sustain a population. On screes nourished by the distressed ledges of dolomitic limestone, the Mugho pine, a dwarf tree which is frugal and resilient, acts as a “pioneer”. It has an original aspect, with its trunk split into several branches and this tree is a cousin of the Mountain pine. You can tell them apart with certainty by looking at their cones: those of the Mugho pine are asymmetrical.
Indigenous the Mercantour mountains, the Mugho pine is an ancient tree which dates back prior to the glacial periods of the quaternary era, which it survived by clinging stubbornly onto the cliffs.