Tree of the Week

Austrian Pine, Pinus nigra Arnold

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves in bundles of 2, stout, 4 to 6 inches long, rather stiff but resisting breakage when bent in two. Buds coated with a white waxy substance. Cones 2 to 3 inches long, falling intact (i.e., basal scales not missing); scales with tiny deciduous prickles. Bark divided into large, dark gray plates, more or less covered with lighter-colored scales.

SIMILAR TREES: Red pine and ponderosa pine are the only other pines planted in Iowa that regularly have leaves more than 4 inches long. Red pine has brown buds and, when mature, reddish bark. Ponderosa pine has at least some bundles with 3 needles. Fallen cones of both species have missing basal scales. (Small Austrian pines sometimes have needles that are shorter than 4 inches. These trees might be mistaken for Scots pine, but Austrian pine has fat whitened buds and Scots pine has slim red-brown buds.)

IOWA DISTRIBUTION: Planted throughout the state.

Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa (Third Edition), by Peter J. van der Linden and Donald R. Farrar