PMA Pines

Iconic PMA parade grounds

PMA'ers jogging in synchrony

The articfcial tree house

It is my fifth time in Baguio, but first time in the Philippine Military Academy grounds. My companions said it has much changed since their last visit but I do not have any comparison to make. We stopped by the Korean War Memorial (which my friends were wondering how come we have a memorial for the war - not sure what the participation of the Philippines in the war that happened in far away Korea). Of course it would not be complete without seeing the famous parade grounds, which I only saw from an old Pinoy movie. My friend Pinky also pointed out to an artifical pine tree with a concrete tree house mounted on it, which drew crowds going up its steep steps.

Age-old wide pine tree

Conical trimmed pine

Trimmed juxtaposed with the natural

But what really got my attention were the real Benguet pines or Pinus kesiya growing around the academy. They come in different ages and sizes. In an avenue in front of one of the main buildings, they had a few of the pine trees shaped in an iconic gymnosperm cone. Pine trees grow straight and upright, but unlike some gymnosperms like Araucaria and Agathis, the canopy shape is much random.  So it is unusual to see them shaped like Christmas trees. 

A few meters across the street, an older pine tree specimen is growing much more natural with ith branches untrimmed and spreading several meters across.  It is also unusual to see this one growing wider than taller.  The PMA seem to be growing its pine trees with peculiarity.