While you can still easily distinguish a pine from other conifers, it is somewhat difficult to precisely differentiate between the individual pine species. For example, could you tell right away whether it was a black pine or a Scots pine? The two trees look very similar. But once you know what traits to look for, tree identification becomes easy.
The needles of the black pine (shown here) are much longer than those of the Scots pine
Three essential features
You can easily tell whether your tree is a black pine or a Scots pine by three main characteristics:
- the shape of the needles
- the color of the bark
- the appearance of pine cones
The shape of the needles
If you compare the length of the needles, it is clear that the leaves of the black pine are twice as long as those of the Scots pine, with a length of 15 cm. Those only reach a length of 7 cm. What both conifers have in common, however, is that their leaves grow in pairs on a short shoot.
The color of the bark
A good clue that you can also refer to to distinguish trees is the color of the bark. The black pine has a uniformly colored bark. Their trunk is dark from bottom to top. The Scots pine is a bit more colourful. Below at the base brown red scales form the bark. Higher up, it loses thickness and its coloring turns bright orange.
The appearance of the pine cones
Finally, it also helps to look at the cones of the two pine trees. On the one hand, both tree fruits differ in length. The black pine produces significantly larger specimens. In a direct comparison you can also see that the cones have different shapes. While those of the Scots pine can be crooked or curved, the cones of the black pine are regular and straight.