The second tree I found myself inspecting while at Alley Park on Saturday was another coniferous tree. At first I just figured that this tree was just another Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) planted in a small clump near the picnic table I was using as an outdoor desk. Many times landscapers and landowners like to plant trees in small colonies, but I figured it would do me a little good to practice IDing as much as possible, so I began to compare this tree with the Red Pine I'd just looked up.First, I plucked some dry needles off one of the low branches and I found that rather than 2 in a bundle that there were 5 needles in this bunch. These needles were also flexible an
d almost soft feeling- like a paint brush. I didn't notice any pine cones still stuck to the branches, while the Red Pine did have old pine cones. With my Peterson Field Guide in hand, I found the page listing the species with 3 and 5 "leafed" pines and browsed the list. Only one tree had 5 needles: the Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus). Apparently and easy way to remember that the White Pine has 5 needles is that there is one needle for each letter in w-h-i-t-e. The Peterson description below the Eastern White Pine simply said " Needles thin, cones slim, branches parallel." At that point I looked up and noticed that surely enough that branches were definitely parallel. I looked back at the red pine and the branches almost sloped upward slightly. I was satisfied. White pine it was. Suddenly I realized that the pine trees I'd climbed near one of my childhood homes were probably white pine; I remembered the parallel limbs that seemed to be built for children to climb and hang from. Ah, if my mother only knew... she probably would have climbed them with me.
