Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) description

Conservation Status

Pinus sylvestris

Common names

Scots pine; pin royo [Aragonese]; meşə şamı [Azerbaijani]; Хвоя звычайная [Belarussian]; Бял бор [Bulgarian]; pi roig [Catalan]; 歐洲赤松 [Chinese]; Хыр [Chuvash]; obični bor [Croatian]; borovice lesní [Czech]; skovfyr [Danish]; grove den [Dutch]; harilik mänd [Estonian]; mänty [Finnish]; pin sauvage [French]; piñeiro rubio [Galician]; waldkiefer [German]; erdeifenyő [Hungarian]; pino silvestre [Italian]; parastā priede [Latvian]; paprastoji pušis, pošės [Lithuanian]; furu [Norwegian]; sosna zwyczajna [Polish]; pinheiro-da-escócia [Portuguese]; pin de pădure [Romanian]; Сосна обыкновенная [Russian]; beahci [Sami]; beli bor [Serbian]; borovica sosnová [Slovakian]; rdeči bor [Slovene]; pino silvestre [Spanish]; tall [Swedish]; sarıçam [Turkish]; Сосна звичайна [Ukrainian]. The term 'Scotch' pine is incorrect and should not be used, as these trees are not a source of that celebrated beverage.

Taxonomic notes

There are five varieties or subspecies:

Pinus sylvestris var. elicinii Kandemir & Mataraci (no synonyms).
Pinus sylvestris var. hamata Steven., or P. sylvestris subsp. hamata (Steven) Fomin.
Pinus sylvestris var. lapponica Hartm., or P. sylvestris subsp. lapponica (Hartm.) Sylvén.
Pinus sylvestris var. mongholica Litv., or P. sylvestris subsp. mongholica (Litv.) Silba.
Pinus sylvestris var. sylvestris, or P. sylvestris subsp. sylvestris.

See POWO for synonymy, which is extensive for var. sylvestris but limited for the other varieties.

There are also 6 named hybrids:

Pinus × celakovskiorum Asch. & Graebn. is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. mugo.
Pinus × litvinovii L.V.Orlova is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. tabuliformis.
Pinus × neilreichiana Reichardt is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. nigra subsp. nigra.
Pinus × rhaetica Brügger is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. uncinata.
Pinus × rhaetica nothosubsp. digenea (Beck) K.Richt. is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. uncinata subsp. uliginosa.
Pinus × rhaetica nothosubsp. rhaetica is the hybrid of P. sylvestris and P. uncinata subsp. uncinata.

This is the type species of Pinus section Pinus subsection Pinus. Certainly Linnaeus saw it as the first pine, but the Romans, for whom Pinus was the common name for "pine", may have been thinking more of P. pinea (and before them the Greeks with P. brutia).

Despite its huge range, P. sylvestris is remarkably uniform in its morphology with individual variation within populations much greater than between-population variation. Even the recognized varieties are barely distinguishable from each other, but they have distinct ranges and ecologies.

Molecular studies have given some insight to the evolutionary dynamics of P. sylvestris; see Toth et al. (2017) for a detailed review. It appears that the extreme morphological uniformity observed in var. sylvestris is due to lengthy and repeated migrations driven by climate change during Pleistocene glacial/interglacial cycles, such that the genome has remained well-mixed. Infraspecific genetic diversity across mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear markers is associated with areas where this generalization does not apply: areas isolated south of the continentally glaciated areas of Europe. These include the Balkan Peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula, and isolated areas in the Alps, Apennines and Carpathians. Analogous studies have not been performed in the Asian distribution of the species, where the ice-free area was vastly more extensive. This pattern of differentiation is only partly represented in the existing infraspecific classification, where the Balkan/Turkish area has var. hamata and the Asian area has var. mongolica. Spanish populations, sometimes treated as var. nevadensis H. Christ or var. iberica Svoboda, are also genetically distinct (Prus-Glowacki & Stephan 1994) and deserve further taxonomic investigation with possible future varietal or subspecific recognition.

Description

A tree to 40 m tall and 120 m dbh. Stem straight (contorted only if lead shoot damaged when young, often by pine shoot moth Evetria turionana). The crown is variable, with a variety of shapes common in wild populations from level branches to near-fastigiate (Pravdin 1964, Steven & Carlisle 1959); open ovoid-conic when young and usually eventually becoming dense, broadly domed or even flat-topped. Bark on lower stem thick, scaly-plated, grey-brown; on upper stem and branches, thin, flaking, orange-red. Branching uninodal. Shoots green at first, becoming grey-buff by the end of the first summer. Buds ovoid-conic, orange-brown, thinly to occasionally thickly covered in white resin. Leaves in fascicles of two, (2.5-)4-6(-9) cm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, always moderately to often strongly glaucous (the only two-leaved hard pine with blue-green or grey-green leaves—an easy pine to identify), longest on vigorous young trees (5-9 cm), short on old trees (2.5-5 cm), commonly slightly twisted, margins finely serrulate; persisting for 2-6(-9) years; leaf sheath grey, 5-8 mm, slowly eroding to 3-4 mm by leaf senescence. Pollen cones 8-12 mm, yellow or pink. Seed cones (2.5-)3-6(-7.5) cm long, conic, symmetrical or nearly so, green ripening matt grey-buff to grey-green; mature in November-December, 20 months after pollination, opening February-April and falling soon after seeds are shed; scales rhombic, flat to protuberant and (rarely) hooked (with a full range of variation in-between), with a minutely mucronate dorsal umbo. Seeds black, 4-5 mm, with a 12-20 mm wing (Pravdin 1964, Steven and Carlisle 1959; M.P. Frankis pers. obs.). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Var. elicinii is a tree to 15 m tall with pale yellow to gray bark. Leaves bright green, 8-11 cm x 0.9-1.3 mm, with 6-11 resin canals; apex pointed; sheath 4-7 mm long. Seed cones slightly asymmetric, 2.4-4 × 1.7-3.5 cm, with short downcurved petioles; apophyses entire or slightly pyramidal; umbo recurved on young cone. Seeds blackish to brown, 3-4 mm long, wings glossy yellowish or brown, striated (Türkiye e-Flora, accessed 2025.02.09).

Var. hamata has pale yellow shoots that later turn gray. The leaves are 2-7 cm long, glaucescent with a mucronate apex. Seed cones 2-5.5 cm long (Farjon 2010). Seed cones tend to have a more strongly hooked apophysis than the type. The leaves stay a stronger blue-green in winter than the type, which often turns a drab green in winter (Frankis M. P. pers. comm. 1998). This variety also differs in resin chemistry (Mirov 1967).

Var. lapponica is sometimes distinguished on the basis of shorter and longer-persistent leaves (5-9 years), but its characters overlap and intergrade to such a large extent that it cannot be adequately defined (Frankis M. P. pers. comm. 1998).

Var. mongolica has smooth, gray-green shoots, and the bud scales are pale brown or yellowish-brown; leaves are 4-12 cm long (Farjon 2010). Usually the buds are more thickly coated in resin, and the foliage tends to be duller, less bluish and more grey-green, to even yellow-grey in winter (Frankis M. P. pers. comm. 1998).

Var. sylvestris has young shoots light brown and rough, with red-brown bud scales and leaves 5-7 cm long; seed cones are up to 7 cm long (Farjon 2010).

Distribution and Ecology

This is the world's most widespread conifer, after Juniperus communis, and its native range includes Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Naturalized and exterminated but reintroduced extent is discussed below.

Var. elicinii is only known from the Black Sea coast in northeastern Turkey (Türkiye e-Flora, accessed 2025.02.09).

Var. hamata is native to the Balkan peninsula, N Turkey and SW Transcaucasia (Dinets 1998), at altitudes of 500–2,600 m (Mirov 1967). USDA hardiness zone 6.

Var. lapponica is often cited as native to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and adjacent parts of Russia north of 65°N (Dinets 1998, Silba 1986). It grows to about 30 m tall on the Solovki Islands in the White Sea (Vladimir Dinets e-mail 1998.01.10).

Var. mongolica is native to Mongolia, NW China, & S. Siberia, at 300-2000 m altitude. It "[o]ccupies great areas in Transbaikalia, in most other areas prefers dry slopes or sandy soils, pure or with Larix spp. ('white taiga')" A specimen 42 m tall is known in the Sohondo Nat. Res., Transbaikalia (Vladimir Dinets e-mail 1998.01.10). USDA hardiness zone 2.

Var. sylvestris occurs in Europe, from Scotland and Spain eastward, and across N Asia nearly to the Pacific coast. In N Eurasia, from sea level to 1,000 m; in S Europe only above 500 m in mountains, to as high as 2,400 m in Spanish Sierra Nevada. Absent from E coastal parts of Siberia, rare and local in NE Siberia (Dinets 1998). Native to Croatia. USDA hardiness zone 1-4, depending on origin; Spanish and NW Scottish origins probably zone 6-7. Extinct through human agency (felling, burning, overgrazing) in Ireland, Wales, England, Netherlands and Denmark; re-introduced populations (largely of unknown derivation) thriving locally in all these countries. Naturalized in Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Québec; and the USA: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin (PLANTS database 2009.03.31).

Remarkable Specimens

"The thickest Swedish pine has a girth of 4.49 m and is growing at Strängsered in Ulricehamn" (Anonymous [no date]). The tallest specimens, up to 45–50 m high, occur along the S coast of the Baltic Sea (Vladimir Dinets e-mail 1998.01.10). The stoutest in the UK is 169 cm dbh, at Belladrum, Scottish Highlands (A.F. Mitchell).

There are abundant age data for this species. The oldest record was recovered from a log sampled at a sawmill in Albania; it provided a 1017-year record, from 968 to 1984 (Seim et al. 2012). The oldest known living tree is growing in Lapland (Finland), less than a kilometer from the Russian border. Researcher Tuomo Wallenius sampled and crossdated the tree, finding an oldest ring date of 1244, i.e., 764 years old when sampled in 2007 (Finnish Forest Research Institute 2007).

Ethnobotany

Commonly sold as a Christmas tree, mainly in N America but also now in Britain, though not the traditional species for this use; when so used, var. hamata is the best as it has better blue colour in winter. An important timber species throughout much of its range.

Also see Mythology and Folklore of the Scots Pine (off-site link).

This is one of two pines I have heard of, where people used to eat the bark (the other is Pinus ponderosa). The outer bark would be stripped, and then the cambium and phloem scraped off; these contain a small proportion of proteins, fats, and digestible carbohydrates, as well as vitamin C. The bark mostly consists of indigestible cellulose, and the taste is generally described as unpleasant, so it is primarily eaten in times of famine. With Pinus sylvestris, the harvested inner bark would be ground to powder and baked with normal (wheat) flour to make bark bread. This practice was particularly recorded among the Sami people (sources cited by Wikipedia, accessed 2023.12.16).

A 1999 search produced 366 papers in dendrochronology involving Pinus sylvestris. There were over a hundred citations involving problems in archeology and a like number involving climate studies. The species has been used to develop a continuous tree-ring chronology extending from 5634 BC to the present (Helama et al. 2008). It has also been used in studies of stand dynamics, air pollution (including Chernobyl radiation), ecophysiology, and a host of more arcane studies. The bibliography has doubtless grown greatly since then; few, if any species have been more extensively used in dendrochronology.

Observations

In Scotland, see the page on How to find the main pine forest remnants, which provides directions on how to reach the nine best examples of remnant Scots pine forest.

Remarks

The epithet sylvestris means "of the forest".

Trees naturalised or planted in N America commonly show a contorted stem form (Kral 1993), possibly due to introduced insect pests lacking their normal control predators and parasites. In its native areas, stem straightness is usually very good.

Var. nevadensis (native to Spain) is listed as vulnerable on the 1996 IUCN Red List.

Citations

Anonymous. [no date]. Forest Sweden: The Swedish Forests. http://www-forest.slu.se/skogen/eng/omtrad.cfm, accessed 1999.06.05.

Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla). 2007.08.06. Lapista löytyi ennätysvanha mänty. http://www.metla.fi/tiedotteet/2007/2007-08-06-vanhin-puu.htm, accessed 2011.02.23 [in Finnish].

Gutiérrez, E. 1989. Dendroclimatological study of Pinus sylvestris L. in southern Catalonia (Spain). Tree-Ring Bulletin 49:1-9.

Helama, S, K. Mielikäinen, M. Timonen, and M. Eronen. 2008. Finnish supralong tree-ring chronology extended to 5634 BC. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift / Norwegian Journal of Geography 62:271-277.

Langlet, O. 1959. A cline or not a cline—a question of Scots Pine. Silvae Genetica 8: 13-22.

Pravdin, L. F. 1964. Sosna obyknovennaya. Izdatel'stvo Nauka, Moskva [Translated Israel progr. scient. transl., Jerusalem, as Scots Pine, 1969].

Prus-Glowacki, W. & B. R. Stephan 1994. Genetic variation of Pinus sylvestris from Spain in relation to other European populations. Silvae Genetica 43: 7-14.

Seim, Andrea, Ulf Büntgen, Patrick Fonti, Hajri Haska, Franz Herzig, Willy Tegel, Valerie Trouet, and Kerstin Treydte. 2012. Climate sensitivity of a millennium-long pine chronology from Albania. Climate Research 51:217-228.

Steven, H. M. & A. Carlisle 1959. The native pinewoods of Scotland.

Tóth, Endre Gy., Zoltán A. Köbölkuti, Andrzej Pedryc, and Mária Höhn. 2017. Evolutionary history and phylogeography of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Europe based on molecular markers. Journal of Forestry Research 28(4):637–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0393-8.

An early version of this page was prepared 1999.01.02 by Michael P. Frankis.