Description
This cluster of stone pine shows no contact with other stands in the province and is most probably a botanical relict, i.e. evidence of a once much larger stone pine presence.
The stone pine is part of a tree stand mainly characterised by larch (Larix decidua), within which there are specimens of spruce (Picea excelsa) and, more rarely, Betula verrucosa and Sorbus aucuparia.
In the shrub state, there are large, scattered groups of mountain pine (Pinus mugo) and large, localised stands of green alder (Alnus viridis). Juniper (Juniperus communis) can also be found, in more or less abundant clusters, rhododendron (both Rhododendron ferrugineum and, to a lesser extent, R. hirsutum), bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) accompanied less frequently by Vaccinium vitis-idaea and V. uliginosum.
The characteristic mountain willows can also be found: Salix retusa, Salix appendicualta, Salix waldsteiniana.
The main problem with the Swiss stone pine stand is the evident paucity of individuals in it. The number of stone pines present is in fact only a few dozen, mostly concentrated on the northern slopes of Col Santo and Col Santino.
These were partly saved from utilisation during the First World War, and partly derived from what were then nuclei of regeneration.
This situation has favoured the expansion of the larch, which tends to hinder the reappearance of the stone pine, as it is in a condition of competitive superiority.