CONIFERS 



17 



purple cones 5'-15' long, their scales armed with stout or slender prickles usually 

 hooked backward, and seeds often nearly i' long and larger wings. 



Occasionally planted as an ornamental tree in eastern Europe, especially the 

 variety Jeffreyi, which is occasionally successfully cultivated in the eastern states. 



16. Pinus palustris, Mill. Long-leaved Pine. Southern Pine. 



Leaves in crowded clusters, forming dense tufts at the ends of the branches, 

 slender, flexible, pendulous, dark green, 8'-18' long, deciduous at the end of their 



second year. Flowers in very early spring before the appearance of the new leaves, 

 staminate in short dense clusters, dark rose-purple; pistillate just below the apex 

 of the lengthening shoot in pairs or in clusters of 3 or 4, dark purple. Fruit 

 cylindrical or conical-oblong, slightly curved, nearly sessile, horizontal or pendant, 

 6'-10' long, with thin flat scales rounded at the apex and armed with small reflexed 

 prickles, becoming dull brown ; in falling leaving a few of the basal scales attached 

 to the stems; seeds almost triangular, full and rounded on the sides, prominently 

 ridged, about \' long, with a thin pale shell marked with dark blotches on the upper 

 side, and wings widest near the middle, gradually narrowed to a very oblique apex, 

 about If long and ^-^' wide. 



A tree, 100-120 high, with a tall straight slightly tapering trunk usually 2-21 

 or occasionally 3 in diameter, stout slightly branched gnarled and twisted limbs 

 covered with thin dark scaly bark and forming an open elongated and usually very 

 irregular head one third to one half the length of the tree, thick orange-brown 

 branchlets, and acute winter-buds covered by elongated silvery white lustrous scales 

 divided into long spreading filaments forming a cobweb-like network over the bud. 

 Bark of the trunk -i^'-^' thick, light orange-brown, separating on the surface into 

 large closely appressed papery scales. Wood heavy, exceedingly hard, strong, 

 tough, coarse-grained, durable, light red to orange color, with very thin nearly 

 white sapwood ; largely used as *' southern pine " or " pitch pine " for masts and 

 spars, bridges, viaducts, railway-ties, fencing, flooring, the interior finish of buildings, 

 the construction of railway-cars, and for fuel and charcoal. A large part of the 

 naval stores of the world is produced from this tree, which is exceedingly rich in 

 resinous secretions. 



