Pine, a member of pinaceae family, is also known as “Pinus Pinea” in Latin. According to mythology, Cybele the goddess of nature, abundance, and earth, also known as the mother of the gods, punished Attis in anger who didn’t keep his promise. Just as Attis, who couldn’t bear the punishment, was about to hang himself, Cybele pitied him, and turned him into a Pine Tree. In descriptions of Sumerian gods, on top of Buddha’s head in Far East mythology, and in Ancient Egypt on the staff of Osiris, pine cone is frequently used.
Pine tree, which has developed with humanity’s culture history, has a life span of about 150 years. The pine, which reaches up to 15-20 m, is also called “topçam” (lit. ball-pine” due to its ball-like shape when it’s young. When pine reaches maturity it turns into an umbrella shape which is when it’s most fruitful. The seeds inside the pine cone can be extracted to obtain pine nut. The pine nut, produced in countries such China, India, Italy and Spain, is also cultivated in Turkey in Bergama-Kozak Plateau and Koçarlı-Mazon region.