Pines

There are around 100 species of pines, eight of which are native to Oregon. To tell them apart, start by counting the number of needles found in the bundles on each branch. Then look at the size and shape of the cones.

Reed has about 10 species of pines represented on the campus. Pines are vulnerable to air pollution, so they are generally planted in the more protected areas, away from the roads.

• Austrian Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus nigra

  The Austrian Pine is a 2-needled species from western and central Europe eastward into the Balkans, Crimea, and Turkey. Its foliage is a very dark green. The spreading branches of a young tree form a pyramidal outline, but in old age, it sometimes achieves a picturesque flat-topped head.
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• Coast Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus contorta

  The Coast Pine is a subspecies of the Lodgepole Pine, which is found inland. The Coast Pine, as the name indicates, is found along the coast of much of western North America. It has bundles of two needles. While the Lodgepole Pine is tall and straight, the Coast Pine is often squat and asymmetrical from strong coastal winds. The cones of the Coast Pine point down the branch toward the trunk, while the Lodgepole Pine's cones point out from the branch.
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• Eastern White Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus strobus

  This is the tallest native tree found east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows up to 80 feet high and has needles in bundles of five. It's the state tree of Maine and Michigan.
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• Japanese Black Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus thunbergiana

  The crown of this pine becomes irregular and spreading as the tree approaches maturity. Its needles come two in a cluster and are 3-4 inches long. Large, white terminal buds help to identify this tree most of the year.
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• Japanese Red Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus densiflora

  An evergreen, this tree is fast-growing in youth, eventually reaching 100 feet, although it usually tops off at 50-60 feet. The small form of this pine, called `Tanyosho,' normally develops two or more trunks. It has handsome red bark and bright blue-green or yellow-green needles. The plentiful cones are two inches long.
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• Jeffrey Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus jeffreyi

  This 3-needled pine closely resembles the Ponderosa, except its needles are longer, stiffer, and grayer, and its cones are twice as long. It is native to southern Oregon and California.
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• Ponderosa Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus ponderosa

  The Ponderosa Pine is the most frequently planted of the large, long-needled native pines. The deep green needles, 6-10 inches long, are arranged in bundles of three. Cones are 3 to 5 inches long. Although found in the interior valleys of western Washington and Oregon, its principal range is east of the Cascades. It is a very important timber tree.
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• Scotch Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus sylvestris

  Twisted, blue-green needles of the Scotch pine come two in a bundle. The cones are 2 inches long. The bark is reddish-orange in color at first, maturing to grayish red-brown. Scotch pines are often used as Christmas trees. The species is variable; many strains and cultivars have been developed. It is native from western Europe to Siberia.  
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• Sugar Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus lambertiana

   Tallest of all the world's pines, the Sugar Pine grows the largest cones - 15 to 24 inches long - of any conifer. Needles, usually twisted in bundles of five, are three to four inches thick and dark bluish-green. Its sap contains a sugary substance. Found in large areas of the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains in Oregon, this species was selected as a replacement from the original planting list.
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• Western White Pine

  Scientific name: Pinus monticola

  The Western White Pine is native to the western United States from sea level to timberline. It is one of the three 5-needled pines that grow in the Pacific Northwest with needles about 4 inches in length and narrow cones that are 5-10 inches long. It is the state tree of Idaho.
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