Can anyone recommend a book that covers all the pines with photos of growth habit, young bark, old bark, needles, cones, identification keys, and descriptions? I'm really tired of jumping here and there on the internet to find whatever twigs (heh heh) my interest. Cheers and thanks Carl
Native Trees of Canada, by R.C. Hosie, has the kind of information that you are looking for but doesn't cover exotic species. The book seems to be out of print, but used copies are available. I have the 8th edition (from 1979) and use it frequently.
I've got the seventh edition from ten years earlier, and I'm still using it too. I'm really looking for something that covers the pines, including exotics. If it happens to include other species that's OK, but my focus is on pines. Thanks Vitog.
I can't help you, but here's a pic of pines in Rome instead. They call them Umbrella Pines and remind me of poodles after they have been to the groomers, but they all seem to grow in this stylized way.
Pinus pinea in the picture, source of pine nuts (though koraensis accounts for most of the nuts commercially available these days). They grow well here in coastal B.C....though take some time to reach the size and form of the ones shown, starting out as fairly squat and bushy and only attaining the high umbrella canopies look at maturity.
In order of decreasing usefulness, best first: Z. Debreczy & I. Racz, Conifers Around the World (2 vols., 2011). Very good, but very pricey; excellent coverage of all conifers, with stunning photos mostly taken in the wild. K. Rushforth, Conifers (1987). Excellent coverage of all temperate conifers, though somewhat out of date now. Out of print, but you might be able to find it second hand. D. M. Richardson (ed.), Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus (1998). A series of papers by numerous authors; covers all sorts of ecology etc. aspects, but not a field guide. A. Farjon, Pines (2nd edition, 2005). Mediocre quality and expensive; drawings not a great deal of help, and several very poor taxonomic decisions.
Speaking of mediocre, the Rushforth treatment of cultivars is lacking. So much for "excellent coverage of all temperate conifers".
Thanks woodschmoe. I was in Rome a couple of weeks ago and wondered about the pine trees. They are quite striking. The two in the picture were in the grounds of the Villa Medici.
Thereby making them of limited utility for most conifer enthusiasts who are actual gardeners with conifer collections on normally sized properties.
You must have something really good up your sleeve, but are keeping us all in suspense. So, what book is it?
A number of accounts of garden conifers are available, both in libraries and the marketplace - there seems to be a fairly steady production of these, even though it appears the internet has almost wiped out the print reference manual as a locally available commodity, stocked by brick and mortar book stores. Which is a "good" one in any particular instance depends on what specific topic is being researched and if the individual researcher thinks they found out what they wanted to know. And if the information presented appears accurate or competently prepared. http://www.timberpress.com/books/tag/conifers
Thanks folks. The Rushforth is on its way. I wish I could afford the Debreczy and Racz. I'm giving some thought to the Eckenwalder from Timberpress.
