Leaf of the Day: Long Leaf Pine Needles

I am trying to get the full set of leaf shapes and this is an example of an acicluar, or needle shaped leaf. I was waiting for the bus on Denning Road this morning and saw these fallen pine needles scattered around the pavement. I noticed that all of them came in sets of three, joined together at the end, and were incredibly long and beautiful. I think this is the Long Leaf Pine, Pinus palustris.

Pine needles are used here in America to make some wonderful baskets. I do so admire the American love and respect for craft at its highest level.
Teri Thompson , a Florida artist has some beautiful baskets here

However, these 12 inch long slender needles would not fit on my 9 x 9 inch sketch book so I have had to move onto the 14 x 17 inch one. Now this poses the problem of scanning, as my basic scanner/printer is only A4. I had to scan this one in two sections but the glass bed of the scanner is slightly lower than its surround which means that anything near the edge tends to be sightly out of focus. Pencil drawings are very difficult to reproduce well, even with professional equipment and I may have to photograph the larger ones now… does anyone have any hints?
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Long Leaf Pine