| General Information |
| Common Name | Scots Pine |
| Scientific Name | Pinus sylvestris |
| Sun Tolerance | Full Sun |
| Height | up to 35 m (up to 115 ft) |
| Spread | 15 - 20 m (50 - 66 ft) |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Bloom Time | Spring |
| Color | Green, |
| Flower Color | Gold |
| Type | Tree |
| Native | USA, Europe. |
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| Classification |
| Kingdom | Plantae – Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta – Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division | Coniferophyta – Conifers |
| Class | Pinopsida |
| Subclass |
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| Order | Pinales |
| Family | Pinaceae – Pine family |
| Genus | Pinus – Pine |
| Species | P. sylvestris |
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| Pinus sylvestris – Scots Pine |
Pinus sylvestris commonly known as Scots Pine and HardyScots Pine. It is well known by its pale red bark towards the top of the tree
and its contrasting blue-green foliage, is Britain’s and Europe’s only native
conifer grown for timber production. The species is mainly found on poorer,
sandy soils, rocky outcrops, peat bogs or close to the forest limit. This is a
long living tree and lifespan is normally 150–300 years, with the oldest
recorded specimens in Lapland, Northern Finland over 760 years. P. sylvestris
is an evergreen coniferous tree growing up to 35 m (115 ft) in height and 1 m
trunk diameter when mature, exceptionally over 45 m (148 ft) tall.
The buds are reddish-brown, up to 1.5 cm long, narrow and
blunt. The young shoots stand upright in May and June like white-green candles,
smooth and shiny. Later they lengthen and turn green, becoming greyish or
yellowish-brown. The stiff, blue-green needles, about 2.5 to 5 cm or more long,
are in pairs, bound together at their base by a grey sheath consisting of
membranous scales.
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| Pinus sylvestris – Scots Pine |
The flowers of both sexes are found on the same tree. The
male flowers are small, globose catkins tightly clustered and set some way back
from the tips of the twigs; at first dull red, they become golden at pollen
time. The tiny female conelets are green with crimson ends to their scales, and
appear in May at the very tips of newly expanded shoots. After fertilization
they grow during the nest year into small green round structures. Later they
become hard, woody, greyish-brown cones which are symmetrical, ‘pointed’, and
about 4 cm long; the raised portion of each scale (the umbo) bears a knob. The
cones mature in two years, and winged seeds fall in spring. On some trees there
will be found not only one year and two year old cones, but also three years
old, open and empty.
The bark at the base is fissured, forming irregular,
longitudinal plates which are reddish or grayish-brown. The shining orange-red
bark of the upper part of the tree is a distinct and warming feature. When
young, the tree is conical and well mature, it is usually sparsely branched
with a flat or domed crown.
The timber is resinous and has a distinct reddish heartwood
surrounded by pale-brown sapwood. Its many uses include telegraph poles,
railway sleepers, fencing, construction work, pit-props, boxes, wood wool,
paper pulp, and chip-board. Though not naturally durable, it takes preservative
well. In the timber trade the wood is often referred to as ‘fir’, ‘deal’ or
‘redwood’, usually qualified in some way.
Scots Pine is now found in its wild state only in Scotland,
but has been extensively planted throughout Europe; it grows readily from
self-sown seed on heaths in many southern counties. It is most successful in
the warmer and drier districts towered the south and east.
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