ArborNote’s Tree of the Week was picked by our software wiz, Jae! He chose the Turkish pine because they shade his walks around his neighborhood in Orange County. Pinus brutia is a medium-size tree, reaching 66–115 feet tall. The young bark is thin and red-orange, maturing to grey-brown to orange in color, fissured to flaky in texture. It is native to Turkey, but it also extends to southeasternmost Bulgaria, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. It is a popular ornamental tree, extensively planted in parks and gardens in hot dry areas (such as southern California, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada, as well as throughout Arizona and central Texas in the United States), where its considerable heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. Its pine cones are also a food favorite of squirrels!