Scots pine

Short Description

The Scots pine is an evergreen tree that can reach a height of up to 50 metres and a trunk diameter of up to one metre.

The blue-green needles are long and stand in pairs. They are stiff, prickly and more or less twisted.

The bark is initially smooth and greyish. Later, coarse brown-red, deep fissured scales form.

The male flowers appear in large numbers below the youngest long shoots. They are roundish and greenish-yellow at first and later reddish-brown. At the end of the short shoots there are a few female flowers. They are reddish. The seed-bearing cones develop from them later.

The mature cones are dark grey-brown and roundish. They contain numerous, winged seeds.

In the city

In the city, the Scots pine is mostly found in pine forests. In addition, it is often used as a solitary tree in parks and gardens. As a solitary tree, it does not achieve the usual shape with a straight, branchless trunk, but an irregular and gnarled growth habit. It prefers dry to wet sites with sandy, nutrient-poor soils.