hey al, pine tree ID is not so bad. you probably dont care this much, i just happen to love pines, made a pine cone collection a long time ago, and offer this info if you want to use it....its pretty basic stuff.
get yerserlf a good pine tree book. it helps to have a general idea of what species occur naturally in your area, after you get this list goin the three key things to ID the pine are cone type, needle cluster type, bark characteristics, and less importantly but helpful are needle length and color.
1)every species' pine cones are different. get a representative collection of your pine's cones and compare to those in the book.
2)pines are grouped by number of needles in a typical cluster (2 needle pine, 3 needle pine, 5 needle pine), how many needles are in your pine's clusters?
3)what type of bark do they have, furrowed, platey, smooth, scaley?
average needle length and color can help too.
have fun.
