Pine nut trees and pine trees

On the first day of the first lunar month, a group of us climbed the mountain to pay New Year greetings to our deceased relatives. On the way, we saw many pine cones that had fallen from the pine trees. Each one cracked and smiled. It was really cute. , we picked up a few bags in plastic bags and brought them back.

On the way, my sister said that I wonder if there are pine nuts in these pine cones. Pine nuts are delicious food. They sell for dozens of yuan per pound in the supermarket. If there are really pine nuts, then I will not go to work elsewhere. Now, just go to the mountain to pick up pine cones. Although it is a joke, we have never picked up pine cones with pine nuts.

Yes, the pine trees all over the mountains and plains produce many pine cones every year. The pine cones we have been familiar with since childhood have never found pine nuts. Some people say that pine cones must be grown on large pine trees to produce pine nuts. This may be because the pine trees are too small. Some people say that the pine nuts are produced by another kind of pine tree. There are different opinions.

In the past two years, many people have picked pine pollen in late spring and early summer when pine trees are blooming. They say that pine pollen can beautify, resist aging, enhance immunity, and has many health care effects. . I saw that the pine pollen collected by my neighbor was very fine and light yellow, like the milk powder that children eat. I asked my neighbor how the pine pollen tasted. He said it had no taste, neither fragrant nor sweet, but it was a natural green food. I didn’t know how effective it was. Anyway, I didn’t dare to eat it.

On a rainy day, sit by the fire and eat the brown, plump, delicious and fragrant pine nuts, while looking at the true face of the pine nut mother on Baidu on your mobile phone.

It turns out that there are many kinds of pine trees. The pine nuts we usually eat are produced by some pine trees such as Korean pine, Huashan pine, and masson pine. They can produce huge pine nuts that are more than one centimeter long. , these pine nuts are rich in oil and are a very precious food supply for rodents and birds that spend the winter. These small animals remove the pine nuts and bury them deeply and shallowly in the ground, waiting to feed during the winter. Some squirrels are buried in so many places that they don't even remember them, often leaving behind a pile of uneaten winter food. I remember when I was a kid, we went up the mountain to look for mushrooms, and we saw a small hole under a tree filled with dried chestnuts.

Like our mountainous area in northern Hunan, there are many tall pine trees on the mountain. They also produce many pine cones, which also contain seeds, but the seeds are small. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to find them. Sometimes a dried pine cone is placed in a moist place, and soon it will sprout and grow into miniature pine tree bonsais, which are also trees used in many urban greenings.

Those pine trees that bear pine nuts grow slowly and are difficult to maintain, and are rarely used for urban greening. However, those pine trees whose seeds are very light and rely on wind to spread their seeds grow quickly and become forests quickly. urban greening trees.

The pine trees on our mountain are these mini-seed pine trees. No wonder we can’t find their seeds. These fallen pine cones have become good firewood for people to use for heating. At Christmas time, many people also use these pine cones to decorate their Christmas trees. The seeds of these pine trees are hidden in the phosphorus flakes of the pine cones. When the wind blows gently, these seeds scatter everywhere, fall to the ground and take root. In a few years, they grow into a tall and straight tree.

You really don’t know if you don’t see it. It’s hard to see pine trees with pine nuts in ordinary places. If you don’t know the true face of Lushan Mountain, you just have to be in this mountain.