Aleppo pine

Aleppo pines leaning over the sea on the Rock of Monaco and the surrounding slopes are a fragment of the Riviera’s wild nature.

The Aleppo pine is a conifer with pale grey bark, an irregular, open crown and thin, bright green needles in pairs. Its cones can stay closed on the branches for years and open only when exposed to high temperatures, such as a fire, allowing the forest to regenerate quickly. It is the most drought-tolerant pine of the Mediterranean basin, growing on stony limestone soils from the coast to the low mountains. The Greeks flavour retsina wine with its resin.

Significance in the country

In densely built-up Monaco, Aleppo pines are among the few native trees still growing on the rocks and steep slopes. Their characteristic spreading silhouettes against the sea are a constant feature of the landscape of the principality and the whole Côte d’Azur.

Where it grows

On rocky slopes and in gardens – including the Saint-Martin Gardens on the Rock of Monaco, the slopes above Moneghetti and in Fontvieille.

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