Scots Pine
Irish Name - Péine albanach
Family - Pinaceae
Characteristics
- In ideal conditions, this strong-growing pine reaches over 30m (90ft) at maturity.
- In young trees, rapid growth often occurs between mid-May and early July.
- A conical tree when young, it becomes typically flat-topped with age.
- Scots pine was very common after the lastice age, but may have partially disappeared around 2000 years ago. It has been widely replanted over the last 150 years.
- It is easily killed by fire and will not regenerate from stumps.
- When these trees are young, cutting and grazing will badly damage them.
Season
- Flowers open in late May and once fertilized, they bend downwards and develop into a cone, which takes a year to become hard. During that year, the winged seeds the cones contain become ripe and they are normally shed between March and June the following year.
Preferred Environment
- Scots pine prefers an acid soil and will not grow well on chalk or limestone.
- It will tolerate some water-logging, growing well on peaty soils as long as there is no serious mineral deficiency.
- These pines are drought-resistant.
- Most young plants are frost-hardy but some may suffer in severe spells, depending on the provenance of the seed.
- It is tolerant of shading.
Wildlife Associations
- Scots pine has 91 insect species associated with it.
- It is a good nesting tree and provides popular winter bird roost sites.
- Red squirrels are attracted by the seeds.
- The bark of a mature scots pine shelters many small creatures such as spiders, woodlice and beetles.
Uses
- Scots pine produces standard timber for construction work. All sizes of wood are milled and great quantities are used in engineering and house building.
- Valuable substances such as pitch, tar, resin and turpentine are produced from the sap.