ON THE COESICAN FIR. 221 



a. Tenuifolia. Leaves scarcely 1 mm. thick, 9-15 centimeter 

 long. 



a. Pyrenaica (Gren. Godr.), with cones 2-2i inches long, a 

 tree attaining a height of 140 feet. 



(3. Cebennensis (Gren. Godr.), cones smaller, height of tree 

 20-33 feet. 

 h. Crassifolia. Leaves 1.5-2 mm. thick, very stiff, 10-16 

 centimeter long. 



y. Poiretiana (Endl.) Bark of yonngest shoots light brown, 

 cones egg-shaped, thin, often slightly bent, 5-7 centi- 

 meter long, greenish yellow to rich brown, the apo- 

 physes with a blunt horizontal swelling. Tree of 

 100-130 feet in height, and 17 feet in girth, often 

 attaining the age of over 500 years. — Spain, Corsica, 

 Italy, Sicily, Greece, Candia. 

 hAii striaca (Endf!) Bark of youngest shoots greyish 

 brown, on older parts dark grey. Cones as on Poire- 

 tiana, but mostly greenish yellow, the apophyses with 

 sharp horizontal swelling. Height of tree 70-125 feet, 

 girth 10-13 feet. It occurs also as a shrub over very 

 dry lime. — Lower Austria, Steiermark, Hungary, Gali- 

 cia, Siebenbtirgen, Banat, Croatia, Dalmatia. 



1 Pallasiaiui, (Endl.) Leaves of a lustrous dark green. 

 Cones 4 inches long, egg-shaped. Apophyses light 

 brown. Height often inconsiderable (and then it bears 

 small cones), sometimes reaching 100 feet. — Crimea, 

 Asia Minor. 



Concerning the above synopsis of the varieties of Pinus 

 laricio, Willkomm* remarks : " All these forms intermingle, most 

 frequently in the case of 7 and d " {Poiretiana and Austriaca), 

 '' which, at best, can scarcely be distinguished." 



For the forester, therefore, it is sufficient to consider the tree 

 in question as the black, Austrian, or Corsican pine (or more 

 laxly, Fir), Pmus nigricans (Host), — P. Austriaca (Hoss), — P. 

 laricio (Poire t), and throughout this report these terms are 

 regarded as synonymous, f 



As regards its geographical distribution, the Corsican fir occurs 

 more or less regularly along the northern shores and on many 

 of the islands of the Mediterranean sea. Starting from Corsica 

 as a central point, it is found, towards the west, forming large 

 natural forests on the mountains of central and south-eastern 

 Spain and on the Appennines ; towards the east, in lower Austria, 



* Willkoinm, " Forstliche Flora von Deutschland uud Oesterreicli," 1872, 

 page 188. 



t CaiiHeyer, " "VValdbau," second edition, Leipzig, 1864, page 17, also regards 

 these terms as synonymous. 



