How do you recognise Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)?

Leaf

Agnieszka Kwiecień, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris L.

Also known as: Scotch pine

Family: Pinaceae

20 to 35 m tall

Heaths, open forests, poor and sandy soils

Flowering: May – June

Full sun

Very hardy, to -28°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Orange bark in the upper trunk — recognisable even from a distance. Aleppo pine has greyish to reddish-brown bark over the whole height of the trunk and long, fine, flexible, light green needles, whereas Scots pine is recognised by the orange bark of the upper trunk and its short, twisted, blue-green needles.

🍃 Leaves

Blue-green needles in pairs, twisted, 4 to 7 cm

🌸 Flowers

Yellow male cones in clusters, small reddish female cones

🍎 Fruits

Brown woody cones, ovoid, hanging, 3 to 7 cm

🪵 Bark

Pinkish-orange and flaking in the upper trunk, grey and fissured at the base

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, northern Asia; common in France in the mountains and on sandy or poor soils

🐝 Value for pollinators

Wind-pollinated by cones, of little direct interest to pollinators

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted for reforestation of poor soils and as a specimen for its characteristic orange bark

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity

⚠️ Look-alike species

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

Aleppo pine

Pinus halepensis

Aleppo pine has greyish to reddish-brown bark over the whole height of the trunk and long, fine, flexible, light green needles, whereas Scots pine is recognised by the orange bark of the upper trunk and its short, twisted, blue-green needles.

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

Austrian pine

Pinus nigra subsp. nigra

Austrian pine keeps dark, grey to blackish bark over the whole height of the trunk and long, rigid needles, whereas Scots pine is recognised by the orange bark of the upper trunk and its shorter, twisted needles.

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

Mountain pine

Pinus uncinata

Spanish mountain pine, a mountain tree, has cones whose scales end in a small recurved hook and grey to brown bark over its whole height, whereas Scots pine is recognised by the orange bark of the upper trunk and by cones without hooks.

🌿 Other Pinaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.