Notes on Antillean Pines with Description of a new Species 
from the Isle of Pines 
By W. W, ROWLEE 
During a trip to southern Florida, Cuba and the Isle of Pines 
last year, I made a special effort to compare the pines of these 
three regions, with the result that I am convinced that the pine of 
- southern Florida, P. heterophylla of recent authors, is not identical 
with Grisebach’s P. Cudbensis. The cones of the Florida species 
are very different from those of the Cuban pine. Pinzus Cuben- 
sis is apparently much closer in affinity to the Loblolly pine 
(P. Taeda) than to P. heterophylla and it is possible, though rather 
improbable, that the Loblolly and the Cuban pine are not speci- 
fically distinct. 
The pines of the West Indies and the coast region of the 
southeastern United States grow under conditions of climate and 
_ soil very different from the species of the northern and western . 
states. The vegetation associated with them records this, as it is 
decidedly xerophytic in tendency. 
Fortunately the West Indian pines have not been encumbered 
with the synonymy that attaches to the Mexican species. Indeed 
it would seem that the recognized botanical species are fewer than 
the forms that are popularly recognized. We were told on the 
Isle of Pines that the natives distinguish five kinds of pines 
when cutting timber. We found sufficient warrant for two, 
but concluded that the other differences depended upon age and 
other individual rather than specific traits. One thing was very 
noticeable, namely, the great uniformity of the pine growths of 
the whole Antillean region. This was manifest not only among 
the pines themselves but also in the character of the accompany- 
ing plants. The shores washed by the Gulf Stream from its entry 
into the Caribbean Sea until it passes north of the frost line, 
whether island or continental, have a strikingly uniform flora; One 
of the effects apparently upon the pine is to increase the density 
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