Macedonian pine

The “molika” of Pelister is a Balkan relic of the Tertiary – Macedonia’s first national park was created in 1948 to protect it.

A conifer growing 35–40 m tall, with a narrow, conical crown and smooth, grey-green bark that flakes with age. Its needles are gathered in bundles of five, and its narrow, elongated cones hang from the branches. It is a Tertiary relic and a Balkan endemic, growing only in a few mountain ranges of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro, usually at 1,500–2,200 m. It withstands hard frosts and poor, stony soils, and its wood is light and aromatic.

Significance in the country

The Macedonian pine is the emblem of Pelister National Park above Bitola, the oldest in the country, where it forms extensive pure stands. In Macedonia it is called “molika”, and its alternative name, Rumelian pine, refers to Rumelia – the Ottoman name for the Balkans.

Where it grows

On Pelister in the Baba massif (Bitola and Resen municipalities), where the largest continuous stands grow, as well as in the Šar Mountains (Tetovo, Gostivar) and in the mountains of Mavrovo National Park.

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