98 ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY CIRCULAR 51 



shoots. The yellowish-brown, lustrous, seed-bearing cones are 

 2-31/2 inches long when mature. The reddish-brown bark is 

 deeply fissured into scaly plates. Although Austrian pine grows 

 best in rich, light, loam soil with a well-drained subsoil, it also 

 thrives in poor soil and will grow in sand fills. It is resistant to 

 gas and smoke fumes in cities, to saltwater spray along sea- 

 shores, and to drought conditions. For many years it was one of 

 the favorite pines. However, in recent years it has been grown 

 less extensively because it is frequently attacked by borers and 

 by Dothistroma needle blight, a fungus disease. 



Scotch pine grows fast and is pyramidal in shape w^hen 

 young. With age it becomes round topped and irregular in shape, 

 with spreading, pendulous branches, and grows to a height of 50 

 feet or more. Some old trees are picturesque (Fig. 89). Some 

 strains reach maturity in 25-30 years and then die, while other 

 strains mature more slowly and live much longer. In recent years 

 some strains of Scotch pine, especially those from Latvia, have 

 been planted extensively for Christmas trees. The dull, grayish- 

 yellow twigs and the yellowish to cinnamon-red bark are distinc- 

 tive. The rigid, bluish-green, twisted needles (Fig. 89 insets) 

 are 11/4-3 inches long and two in a bundle. The pollen-bearing 

 cones are turned downward and are rough with short, hard 

 points. The seed-bearing cones have short stalks, are symmet- 

 rical or occasionally oblique, and are turned downward. The 

 cone scales are pointed backward. Scotch pine grows rapidly in 

 acid or poor, sandy soil. It is relatively resistant to cold, drought, 

 and drying winds. It may be attacked by several insects includ- 

 ing sawfly, white pine weevil, pine bark aphid, European pine 

 shoot moth, and Zimmerman pine moth. 



Western yellow pine is a tall, hardy tree, with a narrow, 

 pyramidal head and stout, spreading (sometimes pendulous) 

 branches, that commonly grow's to a height of 80 feet but may 

 reach 150 feet or more. It grows best on moist but well-drained, 

 deep soil and will thrive on pure clay as well as on sand or gravel. 

 The orange-brown twigs are fragrant when broken. The bark is 

 cinnamon-red to dark brown or nearly black and fissured into 

 ridges which become large plates on old trees. The rigid, dark 

 green needles are 5-11 inches long. Some trees have only two 

 needles in a bundle while others have two needles in some bundles 

 and three needles in others. The small, yellow, pollen-bearing 

 cones are clustered at the base of young shoots. The oval-shaped, 

 bright green to purple, fully grown, seed-bearing cones become 



