Pinus sylvestris L., Scots Pine
Account Summary
Introduction, neophyte, occasional, but usually obviously planted. As a native, Eurasian boreal-montane.
1882; Barrington, R.M.; Co Fermanagh.
Throughout the year.
British and Irish occurrence
A very commonly grown, extremely familiar conifer Scots Pine is almost always deliberately planted in Fermanagh as is generally the case elsewhere in most of Britain and Ireland. The fossil record proves that P. sylvestris was present throughout both islands early in the Post-glacial period, having rapidly spread north as glaciers retreated. Nowadays, although remaining very widespead, it is regarded as native only in the Caledonian forests of the eastern Scottish Highlands (mainly Deeside and Speyside)(Proctor 2013).
Fermanagh occurrence

In Fermanagh, very occasionally we suspect it of seeding itself spontaneously, and when this occurs it is almost always close to habitation or to plantation woods. Scots Pine is still by far the most commonly found gymnosperm in Fermanagh, having been recorded in 155 tetrads, 29.4% of those in the VC. While no longer widely planted by the Northern Ireland Forest Service for commercial timber, it is still actively planted by landowners in plantation woods, on boundaries and for wind-breaks. It is widespread throughout Co Fermanagh, in woods, hedges and rocky glens, but is especially frequent in the east where more intensive farming takes place. Such trees are capable of regeneration and their seed may disperse, self-sow and become naturalised.
Status in Ireland
Although P. sylvestris was present in Ireland after the last Ice Age and was thus originally a native species, it was over-exploited and died out around the Sub-Boreal to Sub-Atlantic periods (ie 3000 BC to around 1500 AD). It was subsequently re-introduced in the early 18th century using Scottish seed (McCracken 1971), so that nowadays it is generally considered native nowhere in Ireland (Carlisle & Brown 1968; Mitchell 1986).
Fossil record and Uses
There has to remain some slight doubt on this interesting matter, however, since the fossil record shows differences in the decline of pine in separate parts of the island. It had disappeared from NE Ireland by around 2000 BC, but seems to have survived in the SW in marginal, exposed sites with poor soils until around 200 AD. The fossil record shows that whenever bog surfaces became relatively dry, pine could invade them, and we know that some (probably stunted), trees were still growing on Midland Irish raised bogs at around 300 AD (Mitchell 1986). It probably also hung on into historic times in other areas of Ireland with exposed conditions and dry limestone soils, such as the Burren, Co Clare (H9), and on heaths. An early Irish Law text from the eighth century AD survives and it lists the penalties for unlawfully interfering with trees and bushes. Evidence form this text indicates that pine, which was greatly valued for its resin and was used for making pitch to caulk boats, was still fairly common in Ireland in the eighth and ninth centuries AD (Kelly 1997, p. 383). The question of pine survival is an academic one, however, and to all intents and purposes, the botanical and associated entomological evidence points to P. sylvestris either becoming extinct or surviving in such minute numbers that it can no longer be represented in the gene pool of present-day pines in Ireland (Webb & Scannell 1983; Speight 1985).
World occurrence
Scots Pine is a polymorphic Eurasian species and it is the first or second most widely distributed conifer in the world: it’s rival for this distinction is Larix sibirica (Siberian or Russian Larch). The natural range of P. sylvestris stretches from beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia to southern Spain, and from western Scotland to the Okhotsk Sea in eastern Siberia (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 80). Within this range it grows at elevations from sea level to 2,400 metres (8,000 feet), the elevation generally increasing from north to south.
A forester’s verdict: In his last and postumously published book, Alan Mitchell's Trees of Britain, the author explains that at forestry school Scots Pine was known as "the facile snare", because it caught out the uninitiated tree planter. The point being made is that Scots Pine is easy to raise and it establishes well on a wide range of soils and sites, including some of the most difficult, but in almost all circumstances it will be outgrown and out-yielded by other timber species. "It is unable to exploit better sites and even at its best is a smaller and slower growing tree than any other used in forestry." (Mitchell 1996, p. 118).
Threats
None.