Scots Pine

Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris

 

Scots Pine is not native to North America, but has been planted widely and can be found all over the place. It was commonly used for Christmas trees, although not so much anymore. You might find stands of older trees that weren't harvested.

It is the only pine native to northern Europe. In Great Britain, it is currently only naturally found in Scotland.

These easiest way to identify this tree is to look at the upper trunk. It will appear reddish with flaky bark. The needles can vary in length with two in a cluster that have a bit of a twist. The cones are small and round.



Note the different lengths of the needles. They come two in a cluster and twist around each other about 180 degrees.

 



Male flowers

Another male flower