#build10

Big Cone Dragon Spruce

Picea Asperata var. Ponderosa

Type: Needled evergreen Native Range: Western Sichuan Province Zone: 6 to 9 Height: 50.00 to 150.00 feet Spread: 25.00 to 40.00 feet Bloom Time: Non-flowering Bloom Description: Non-flowering Sun: Full sun Water: Medium Maintenance: Low Leaf: Evergreen

This tree appeared ragged and sparse from far away, but as you got closer you could easily see that it was thriving just fine, from the density of its twigs. Although this tree’s name states its the big cone version, I didn’t see any of these so called ‘big cones’ anywhere on the ground or above. The bark on the main tree reminded me of that of red pine, in that it dripped of resin and had a defined scale appearance. This bark scored a 2 out of 3 for its score. The Needles were a bluish green as you got closer, closer to that of a blue spruce. Although soft looking, they were rather hard and spiky, resulting in a danger to touch. check out how spiky the twigs are, rather scary. They get a 2 out of 4 for leaves. For landscape uniqueness, this tree surely gets a high score, for it is native to Chinese river valley mountains, surely a sight to see on the outskirts of Boston. This one seemed perfectly content growing here, so we will award it a 3 out of 4 for uniqueness.

Bark: (1-3) 2

Leaves: (1-4) 2

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 3

Total: 7

Like many other larger evergreens researched so far, this tree has tremendous structural abilities, while retaining some lightweight qualities as well. Some sites even say that this wood has been used in early aircraft due to its strength and levity. Another use for this tree is it has been made into railway sleepers as well as furniture. This wood has been grown an cultivated for usage in construction, so it scores very highly at 9 out of 10.

Source:

1. https://conifersociety.org/conifers/picea-asperata/

2. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/picea-asperata/

Red Pine

Pinus resinosa

Family (Botanic): Pinaceae Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Evergreen  Native Locale: North America Landscape Uses: Specimen, Windbreak Size Range: Large tree  Light Exposure: Full sun/partial Hardiness Zones: Zones 2-5 Soil Preference: Acid soil, Moist, well-drained soil, Sandy soil

BEAUTY/BUILD

This pine is located on Northeastern University's campus, between the Egan Research building and the Veterans Memorial. This tree caught my eye due to the sheer abundance of sap and resin this thing put on its self. Looking at the bark, it looks more like a cinnamon roll than a tree, its white dried up sap seeping down the shell like bark. This in my opinion looks pretty cool, albeit messy. The bark gets a 2 out of 3 for its unique messy bark, and its needles are close to that of a white pines, with fluffy soft tufts of needles rather than hard needles like that of a pitch pine, which also gives off a lot of resin. The Red pine scores a 1 out of 4 for its needles, and a 2 out of 3 for landscape uniqueness. The total score of the Red Pine is 6 out of 10 for beauty

Bark: (1-3) 3

Leaves: (1-4) 1

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 6

Ah yes, this is finally a tree I can give a high score to, because I have personally framed light frame construction with this exact wood. The lumber for the most part grows straight and is easily workable. It holds nails well and is usually treated with preserves when needed to be rot resistant. Some of the other uses of red pine include utility poles, posts, railroad ties, and paper. This tree is grown for its ability to create dimensional lumber and will be receiving a 10 out of 10 for its buildability score, even though it surprised me to learn its janka hardness score was only 560lbs of force.

Source: 

1. https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/red-pine

Pitch Pine

Botanical name: Pinus rigida All Common Names: pitch pine, torch pine, candlewood pine Planting Site: highway medians, barrier beaches, on hills Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Coniferous Native Locale: Appalachia Size Range: Large tree (more than 40 feet) Mature Height: 70-90 feet Mature Width: 20-40 foott spread Light Exposure: Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily) Hardiness Zones: Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9

BUILD/BEAUTY

The Pitch pine was one of my favorite trees we identified on our field trip to the crane estate. We could clearly delineate it from the more puffy, softer looking white pine that also dotted the landscape. The pitch from the tree was also very fun to play with, it is endlessly sticky. I enjoy the aesthetics of this pine tree, as its color is great, the composition of its whorls are fantastic, and the needles are thick and fragrant.

Bark: (1-3) 1 (nothing too special, typical looking pine bark)

Leaves: (1-4) 3

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

The beauty score I award is only a 6 out of 10.

For a building material, the pitch pine is a very useful wood. Some of its many buildable uses include bridges, beams, poles, railroad ties, etc. It’s also used for making plywood, wood pulp, and veneers. The usage of CLT (cross laminated timber) can use this pine to create structural beams more strong (pound for pound) than a steel beam. 

Take a look at a sealed piece of pitch pine:

(Photo Source: https://www.wood-database.com/pitch-pine/)

The pitch pine can also be made into LVL’s which are a critical building material when it comes to making structure. This is one of the few trees than gets a maximum score of 10 out of 10 for buildability, due to its structural properties as well as its many other uses such as paper, veneer, cabinetry, ect.

Source:

https://www.wood-database.com/pitch-pine/

http://hort.uconn.edu/detail.php?pid=331