THE FLORAL FEATURES OF CALIFORNIA 27 



wood forests of the northern coast region, there are, usually in remote 

 isolated spots, a number of other conifers especially interesting on 

 account of their extreme rarity. All these species, which are far 

 more local and rare than the giant sequoia, are situated in the coastal 

 region. They are supposed to represent an ancient flora that existed 

 here when the coast ranges formed an archipelago some distance off 

 the western shore of the continent. 



The Torrey pine is the rarest pine in the world. It is found only 

 in two small groves of scattered trees, one a few miles north of San 

 Diego, and the other on the eastern end of Santa Eosa Island. San 

 Diego has wisely acquired the mainland grove and established a park 

 in order that these trees might lie preserved. 



The Santa Lucia fir inhabits the Santa Lucia Mountains, an isolated 

 range lying along the coast between Monterey and San Luis Obispo. 

 This fir is found nowhere else, and is distinct from all other firs in its 

 sharp-pointed leaves and bristly cones. It is within the Santa Lucia 

 National Forest and is therefore assured protection. 



Both the Monterey cypress and the Monterey pine are found on 

 the Monterey Peninsnla. The pine forms a forest over a large part of 

 the peninsula and extends down the coast for fifteen to twenty miles. 

 There is also a grove on the coast of San Luis Obispo County and 

 another a few miles north of Santa Cruz. The cypress is confined to 

 two small groves situated on the two promontories that mark the bound- 

 ary of Carmel Bay, just south of Monterey. Here, perched on the high 

 cliffs overhanging the Pacific and buffeted by winds and storms into 

 picturesque, often grotesque attitude, they add a Japanese touch to the 

 charms of this coast, famed as the most beautiful spot on the Pacific. 

 We are constrained to say that both of these groves are under private 

 control. Cypress Point, the more accessible of the two, is in the hands 

 of a self-styled "Improvement Company," and as we write word comes 

 that it is to be surveyed into lots and thrown on the market. May 

 public-spirited citizens do their utmost to acquire and preserve this 

 unique grove ! Surely it will be to our everlasting shame if California 

 permits the destiny of these, the^ rarest of all trees, to depend upon the 

 whims of summer cottagers. 



i & v 



Foothills axd Valleys 



Much of the peculiar charm of California lies in her rolling foot- 

 hills and broad fertile valleys, purple-rimmed by mountains. Here are 

 great stretches of the beautiful valley oak, with its massive spreading 

 crown sometimes nearly one hundred feet across. To quote Dr. Sar- 

 gent, the best known authority on American trees: 



No other region in the world presents anything to compare with its park-like 

 beauty, the nobility of the individual trees, or the charm of the long vistas 

 stretching beneath them. 



