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Pine - a long-lived tree

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Pine trees can survive almost anywhere. It grows throughout the Eurasian region, both on loose sandy soils and on loamy and rocky soils. Pine trees become 100 years old, in exceptional cases even up to 1,000 years. The oldest tree in the world is 4800 years old pine called Methuselah growing in California's White Mountains.

Like all trees, the plants provide habitat and a variety of other ecosystem services, and pine seeds are an important food source for birds, squirrels, and other animals. The pine seeds, are produced by several species. Many pines are cultivated as ornamentals, including black, white, Himalayan, and stone pines. Pine-leaf oil, used medicinally, is a distillation product of the leaves. The main use of pine wood is found again in construction, especially in the manufacture of floors and furniture.

Pines are conifers. The most definite feature of pines is that the needles occur in clusters of 5. The well-known pine in our country is the Scots pine. Heartwood is light reddish brown, demarcated sapwood is pale yellow to nearly white. Grain is straight, with a medium, even texture. Scots Pine has a mild odor when being worked. It is characterized by a distinctive drawing with a striped texture in the cut, a distinctive scent and soft wood with a higher resin content, making the wood lighter and more flexible, but more durable. However, the wood has many bumps, which can be a disadvantage when processing. Proper drying and subsequent impregnation is therefore necessary to prevent blue staining. It is a popular Christmas tree because of its form and ability to hold onto its needles for a long time. In several mountain areas of Slovakia you can see log houses, which are also made of pine logs.

One of the twelve most beautiful trees in Slovakia is the Scots pine from the chateau garden in Hlohovec. The aim of the "Tree of the Year" project is to draw attention to rare, old and particularly endangered trees and thus arouse people's interest in nature. After the competition, the “Hlohovec pine” was placed on the bronze place. The pine received a treatment fee of €300 which was used for its care.

The pine on the meadow above Bešeňová is also famous for its unusual bushy crown. You may enjoy the view of the horizon of the Liptov countryside from there.

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