Scots Pine Tree
The Scots Pine is one of the commonest trees in Britain and is the national tree of Scotland, it formed much of the Caledonian Forest which once covered much of the Scottish Highlands.
An evergreen coniferous tree which can grow up to 25m in height with a 1m trunk diameter when fully mature. The mature tree has a long, bare and straight trunk topped by a rounded or flat-topped mass of foliage. The lifespan is normally 150–300 years, with the oldest recorded specimens just over 700 years. It is very adaptable and can develop a shallow root system or deep taproots enabling it to thrive in poor dry soils and at higher elevations.
Golden Eagles and Osprey favour the Scots Pine’s level branch system for nesting. Insects thrive in and around cracks in the trunk and a wide variety of birds feed well in the area of Scots Pines. The seeds and cones of the tree are particularly appealing to Red Squirrels.