150 TREES OF NORTH AMERICA 



the thickened and revolute margins, sli<^liily fragrant, gradually dceiduons after the 

 end of their first year. Flowers subtended by conspicuous bractlets, those of the 

 two sexes on the same })lant; staminate in oblong simple aments often 1' long, pis- 

 tillate in shorter anients in the axils of upper leaves, androgynous aments occurring 

 between the two with staminate Howers at their base and pistillate flowers above, 

 or with staminate flowers also mixed with the pistillate at their apex; scales of the 

 aments ovate, acute, coated with pale tomentum; stamens numerous, with oblong 

 slightly emarginate dark red-purple anthers soon becoming yellow; ovar}'^ ovate, 

 with bright red exserted styles. Fruit in short crowded spikes ripening in the 

 early autumn and usually falling during the winter, globose, papillose, dark purple, 

 covered with a thin coat of grayish white wax. 



A tree, occasionally 40 high, with a trunk 14'-15' in diameter, short slender 

 branches forming a narrow compact round-topped head, and stout branchlets, coated 

 at first with loose tomentum, dark green or light or dark red-brown, glabrous or 

 pubescent during their first season, becoming in the second year much roughened 

 by the elevated leaf-scars, darker and ultimately ashy gray; usually smaller at the 

 north and toward the northern and southern limits of its range reduced to a low 

 shrub often only 3-4 tall. Winter-buds ovate, acute, about ^' thick, with 

 loosely imbricated ovate acute dark red-brown tomentose scales nearly ^' long when 

 fully grown and long-persistent on the branch. Bark smooth, compact, Yi'-^' thick, 

 dark gray or light brown on the surface and dark red-brown internally. Wood 

 heavy, very hard and strong, brittle, close-grained, light rose color, with thick lighter 

 colored sapwood. 



Distribution. Ocean sand-dunes and moist hillsides in the vicinity of the coast 

 from the shores of Puget Sound to the neighborhood of Santa Monica, California; 

 of its largest size on the shores of the Bay of San Francisco. 



Occasionally used in California as an ornamental plant. 



VII. LEITNERIACE-ai. 



A tree or shrub, with pale slightly fissured bark, scaly buds, stout terete 

 pithy branchlets marked by pale conspicuous nearly circular lenticels and with 

 elevated crescent-shajied angled or obscurely 3-lobed leaf-scars, very light soft 

 wood, and thick fleshy stoloniferous yellow roots. Leaves involute in the bud, 

 lanceolate to elliptical-lanceolate, acuminate or acute and short-pointed at the 

 apex, gradually narrowed at the base, entire, with slightly revolute undulate 

 margins, penniveined, with remote primary veins arcuate and united near the 

 margins and conspicuous reticulate veinlets, petiolate, at first coated on the 

 lower surface and on the petioles with thick pale tomentum and puberulous on 

 the upper surface, thick and firm at maturity, bright green and lustrous above, 

 pale and villose-pubescent below, deciduous. Flowers in unisexual aments, with 

 ovate acute concave tomentose scales, the male and female on different plants, 

 opening in early spring from buds formed the previous autumn and covered 

 with acute chestnut-brown hairy scales ; the staminate clustered near the ends 

 of the branches, their scales bearing on the thickened stipes a ring of 3-12 sta- 

 mens, with slender incurved filaments and oblong light yellow introrse 2-celled 

 anthers opening longitudinally ; perianth ; pistillate aments scattered, shorter 

 and more slender than the staminate, their scales bearing in their axils a 

 short-stalked pistil surrounded by a rudimentary perianth of small gland- 

 fringed scales, the 2 larger lateral, the others next the axis of the inflorescence; 



