The Scots Pine Tree

Ireland has only 3 native Coniferous trees; the Yew, the Juniper, and our featured tree today, the Scot’s Pine Tree. 

The Scot’s Pine has quite an interesting history and a bittersweet relationship with Ireland. Scot’s Pine was one of the first tree species to colonise the island of Ireland after the Ice age, around 12,000 years ago. 

This colonisation didn’t last forever, approximately 4,000 years ago, the Scot’s Pine all but was presumed to have disappeared from the majority of the country. Tree stumps remain intact in boglands from this time and often appear during turf cutting. Then, around the 17th century, the Scot’s Pine was re-introduced by the Scottish during the plantations. It was previously believed that the majority of the Scots Pine trees found in Ireland today could be traced back to trees brought over from Scotland.

However, recent research from Trinity College disputed and contradicted this history and confirmed that a small selection of trees survived the widespread decline, and thus never died.

All of these trees found in Ireland today were assumed to be descendants of the introduced Scottish stock, but that’s not the case

Professor Mitchell

This means that these trees can be considered a fully native collection of the species. This small selection of Trees was found in County Clare (which is coincidentally the home to our first 4 Cloudforests). The Scots Pine was once so dominant in County Clare, that it was one of the only trees which populated the Burren. 

One conservation group, called Burren Beo, is attempting to restore this ecological presence to the Burren, through its Burren Pine Project, which aims to “ (restore) a lost species to Ireland’s natural flora”. This group wants to bring back these Scots Pine woodlands to the Burren through sponsorship and land donations. To understand how the Scots Pine is able to survive in the harsh landscape that is the Burren, we must look at the species' features and elements. 

Overall, the Scots Pine is a very hardy species and can grow in rocky, sandy, or shallower soils, that have a limited reservoir of nutrients and water available to plants. It has been known to grow for up to 700 years in parts of Sweden & Norway. Mature trees can grow up to around 35 meters.

In terms of its appearance, the Scots Pine is easy to identify. Its leaves are especially distinctive, they are needle-like, dark green leaves, which usually grow in pairs. The cones on a scots pine are reddish when they first begin to grow and then turn to more grey-brown color. There are seeds within the cones that have wings and are approximately 3-5 mm. The cones themselves can grow to a length of around 7.5cm. Much like the Birch Tree (another Native Irish Tree found in our Cloudforests), the Scots Pine is a pioneer species, which means it takes over areas that have been abandoned or have been newly cleared. This explains how it colonised Ireland (and especially the Burren) thousands of years ago

As a native Irish tree, the Scots Pine as a species has a massive value to native wildlife in Ireland. Vitally, it provides a valuable food source for the Red Squirrel, which is an endangered native Irish species. If we look again at the research done by the team at Trinity, we learn that; “Scots Pine growing in Ireland today provides a habitat for almost 15% of native Irish plant species…Scots Pine also creates habitats for native Irish fauna, including many bird species”.

Like most Native Irish trees, the Scots Pine has a distinguished reputation in Irish mythology and history. It was notoriously a symbol of rebirth and represented hope. This was signified through the burning of scots pine, like a Yuletide log, during the winter solstice. The tall trunks of the Scots Pine also made great masts for ships and it is thought that they were also used as tall markers on the landscape at crossroads and ancient cairns.

Like all the other Trees of Cloudforest, the Scots Pine is a powerful tool in Carbon Sequestration. This is why we are planting Scots Pine (along with all other native trees) in all of our forests for the planet along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic, as part of our mission to make planet earth cool. If you’d like to buy a Native Irish tree planted on our Gift Tree Grove at Cloudforest One, simply follow the link below: