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Meet the Scots Pine

An Giúis/ Pinus sylvestris

Get to know your National Tree Day Tree

Ireland’s Native Conifers

Ireland has several native evergreen conifer species.

The Yew is classified as a conifer, although it bears its seed in a red fruit-like berry called an aril.

Juniper, which can grow into a small tree in the right habitat, bears its seeds in small, blue-green, berry-like cones.

The Scots pine is the largest of our native conifers, and it bears its seeds in cones which can be up to 7 cm long and require at least two years to mature.

Scots Pine at a Glance

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Scientific Name

Pinus sylvestris

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Irish Name

An Giúis

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Height

Up to 30 metres

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Leaves

Evergreen needles

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Look out for

Needles growing in pairs

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Fruit

Pine cones

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Wildlife

Seeds are an important food source

How can I recognise a Scots Pine?

Look at the needles

Scots Pine needles grow in pairs. They're usually around 4–7 cm long and are green with a distinctive blue-grey appearance.

Look for cones

Young cones are green and closed. As they mature, they become brown and woody before opening to release their winged seeds.

Look at the flowers

The tree has both male and female flowers, which are wind-pollinated, so there are no petals to attract insects. The female flowers are at the tips of the shoots, while the male flowers, which contain the pollen, are further down the shoots.

Look at the bark

One of the easiest clues on an older Scots Pine is its striking orange-red bark, particularly towards the upper part of the tree.

Sammy Says... Scots Pine is Great for Biodiversity & Wildlife!

Being a native species, Scots pine is particularly good for wildlife.

Red Squirrels

The seeds inside ripe pine cones are a favourite food. They love the seeds found inside ripe pine cones. With their sharp teeth and clever paws, they can pull apart the woody cones to reach the nutritious seeds hidden inside.

Bees

Bees collect resin from Scots Pine and use it to make a substance called propolis, which helps them seal and protect their hives.

Insects

An amazing 91 species of insects depend on Scots Pine for their existence. There can be twice as many earthworms in the soil under trees as there are in grassland soil.

Sammy's Challenge

Next time you find a Scots Pine, stop and take a closer look.

Can you spot a pine cone that has been nibbled?
Can you find insects on or around the tree?
Look up into the branches; can you see or hear any birds?

One tree can be a whole world for wildlife!

Scots Pine & the Planet

As it grows, it captures carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in its wood and roots.
Its branches provide shelter, its seeds provide food, and its presence creates habitat for wildlife.
Like other trees, it can also help protect soil, intercept rainfall and contribute to a greener landscape.
One Scots Pine can make a difference. Imagine what two can do!

Planting for the Planet

Scots Pine's Irish Story

A Native Conifer Species

It is indeed a native species despite its name in English. Its Irish name, which is much older, is An Giúis.

It was one of the first trees to colonise Ireland after the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. It grew in large forests in lots of places here for thousands of years.

When the first farmers – the Neolithic people - came to Ireland about 6,000 years ago, they began to clear these forests so that they could cultivate the land for their cattle. These areas were eventually abandoned and became covered with blanket bog. Even today, stumps of these ancient pine trees can be found buried in our blanket bogs – we call these stumps bog deal.

In fact, the trees died out, and when it was decided to replant them in Ireland in the 17th century, they had to obtain saplings of the same tree from Scotland, where it had never died out.

And so, it was the pine from Scotland, and they called it the Scots Pine.

DID YOU KNOW - A Surprising Discovery

For many years, it was believed that Ireland's original Scots Pine had completely disappeared and that the trees growing here today descended from Scots Pine reintroduced from Scotland centuries later.

However, research on Scots Pine growing in County Clare provided evidence that the species has survived there for thousands of years, so it never actually died out at all!

Good for Biodiversity and Wildlife

Being a native species, Scots pine is particularly good for wildlife.

Seeds of the ripe pinecones are the favourite food of the red squirrel.

Bees make propolis to repair their hives from resin that oozes out of cracks in the bark. There are 91 species of insects that depend on the Scots Pine for their existence. There can be twice as many earthworms in the soil under trees than there are in grassland soil.

Importance of Scots Pine in Ancient Ireland

The Scots Pine (An Giúis) was one of the nobles of the wood in the old Brehon Laws.

In ancient Ireland, the importance of trees led to their classification into various categories, with a series of laws governing their use and imposing fines for damaging or cutting them without landowners’ permission.

These laws date from at least the 7th century. The most important trees were in the first group of seven – The Nobles. These were Oak, Hazel, Holly, Yew, Ash, Pine and Apple. You got into serious trouble if you even cut branches off any of these trees, never mind cutting one down.

Pine was highly valued because of the resin the wood contained. This was collected from living trees and used to preserve wood and make boats waterproof.

The Tree Alphabet was the forerunner of the native Ogham Alphabet, which we see used for inscriptions on high crosses and the like at ancient monastic sites.

An Giuis was the first vowel of this alphabet – the letter A - reflecting its very ancient name Ailm.

It was the tree of the month of the Winter Solstice (from 29 November to 26 December) in the old
Celtic calendar.

It was associated with festivals in mid-winter, welcoming the return of the sun.

Want to Learn More?

Watch this short video to discover more about Scots Pine.