Latin name: Pinus sylvestris

Also known as: Scots pine (UK), Baltic redwood, Finnish redwood, Archangel redwood, Russian redwood, Polish redwood, red deal, yellow deal

Wood type - Softwood

Introduction - "Scots pine" and "European redwood" are the trade names generally used in the UK to differentiate between homegrown and imported Pinus sylvestris.

The Tree - The tree is generally 30m high with a diameter of about 1m but larger trees may be found on favourable sites.

The Timber - The sapwood is creamy-white to yellow in colour, narrow, especially in northern environments, becoming wider in the southern areas, and the heartwood is pale yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, resinous, and usually distinct from the sapwood. The growth rings are clearly marked by the denser late-wood. The quality of the timber is affected by the conditions of growth, climate, soil, elevation, etc, more than most timbers because of its wide and varying distribution, and these factors affect the texture, density, size and number of knots.