Family: Pinacea
Genus: Pinus
....of which there are many species. The only pine occuring naturally in the British Isles is the Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), a picture of which is shown here. This species colonised land left bare after the retreat of the last ice age. Its range occurs across the north of Europe below the southern line of Tundra. Remnants of the old forest exist in the Highlands of Scotland, where majestic trees of great age stand singly or in groups.

Pines are often referred to by the groupings of their needles on the twig. The Scots Pine has needles in pairs. Many species of pine have needles in groups of five, particulary in North America. Some pines have needles in groups of three.

The timber of each group also varies in hardness, and this is in the relationship the dense, darker "winter wood" bears to the lighter "summer wood", which are seen as rings. In the five-needled group the darker ring stands out sharply from the lighter ring, while in the three-needled group the darker ring tends to contrast sharply on one side only, merging into the light ring on the other.

The timber from pines is highly valued, although in this country the market nowadays is more for smaller sizes than perhaps might have been sought in the past. The timber from most coniferous trees gets more strength and rigidity from the denser "winter wood" while in broad-leaved trees the "winter wood" is usually composed of pores.