Scots Pine
Featured in: Year 1: Plants
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Scots Pine
Tree
A tall, rugged conifer and the only pine tree native to the UK.
How to identify:
Look for its long, blue-green needles which grow in pairs, its woody cones, and its flaky, orange-brown bark on the upper part of the trunk.
💡 Fun Facts
- Instead of broad leaves, a pine tree has tough, waxy needles which it keeps all year. This helps it to save water.
- It reproduces using woody cones, which open up in dry weather to release their seeds.
- Red squirrels love to eat the seeds from pine cones.
📅 Through the Year
- Fruiting:September to November
Name Story
Pinus sylvestris
means “the pine of the woods”
What does its name mean?
- Pinus — pine treeLatin — the old Roman name for the pine
- sylvestris — of the woods, wild, uncultivatedLatin silva, 'wood, forest'Decode this word →
Pinus sylvestris means 'the wild pine of the woods' — and it is Britain's only native pine, the great tree of the ancient Caledonian forests of the Scottish Highlands.