Scots pine

Native over much of Europe and northern and western Asia, the Scots pine is very widely planted for its valuable timber. It also makes an attractive and hardy ornamental tree, thriving in light acid soils. Grows to 35-40 metres

Crown: Pyramid shaped or conical when young, becoming flat-topped or rounded with age, with the branches sparseley arranged high up on the trunk

Bark: At the base of the trunk, reddish or grey-brown and cracked. On the upper trunk and branches, orangeey red to pink and scaly

Shoots: Hairless and pale green, becoming brown

Buds: Cylindrical, dark brown or red

Leaves:  Blue-grey or blue-green needles, often twisted, growing in pairs. 3-7 cm long

Male cones: Small, yellow and rounded, clustered near the tips of the shoots in early summer

Female cones: Pink and globular when fertilised, becoming green and turning down on the stem during the next year. Mature third year cones are 3-8 cm long, grey-brown, oval and pointed. They produce winged seeds

Uses: Yields a good multi-purpose resinous timber with reddish heartwood and pale-brown sapwood. One of the best softwoods for general construction, telegraph poles, railway sleepers, fencing, pit props, paper pulp, chipboard etc. Other products are pitch and tar, oil of turpentine and rosin (from the resin) and a reddish-yellow dye (from the cones)