LANDSCAPE OF BEAUTY AND MEANING 23 



at the head of the southern cove on the end of Cypress Headland. As 

 such a group matures, losing its lower limbs, it approaches the condition 

 of the much painted and photographed group of twisted and distorted trees 

 on the outer south side of Cypress Headland which is of added significance 

 when one realizes that this represents a late stage in the life of this group. 

 Where reproduction has been adequate to insure the continuance of such 

 groups, the young trees growing up have obscured the old picturesque trees. 

 Another of the outstanding cypress forms is found also on the seaward 

 margins, but on more sheltered portions of the shore, splendidly typified 

 by the so-called Old Veteran at the head of the cove west of Little Dome. 

 Old, flat-topped trees of this type have matured without much distortion 

 from wind, standing mostly alone at the seaward edge of open meadows 

 where they form striking silhouettes against the sea beyond. On the south 

 shore of Cypress Headland, such trees compose magnificent pictures with 

 the foreground meadow and the farther side of Point Cove and the Seal 

 Rocks behind. 



Cypress Forest Interiors 



Of this phase there are at least two classifications: (1) Dense thickets 

 of young trees, usually with many dead twigs and of little esthetic value 

 as seen from within — they have important meaning, however, as they are 

 one link in the development cycle of the cypress — ; (2) heavy mature woods 

 containing large trees. Such have considerable dignity if not too much 

 cluttered up with small, young growth, although some inmixing of young 

 trees gives interest and contrast. Since these groves are limited in extent, 

 it is always possible to get glimpses of the bright sea out between the 

 trunks, that frame many fine "window vistas." Thus, while within these 

 groves one feels sheltered from the sea-winds and bright light, the eye is 

 drawn toward the sea margins, making them less restful and sufficient in 

 themselves than the depth of the pine forest. The principal interests here 

 are the great varietj' of fine tree shapes and the vistas seen through them. 

 Notable groups of large specimens are scattered through the cypress areas, 

 each Avith a character of its own. In several places the cha,racter and inter- 

 est in the cypress woods lie in the trailing "moss" hanging pale green from 

 every branch and twig, usually lighted from beyond through the filmy 

 shreds. This adds to the atmosphere of "untouched wilderness." 



Glades and Meadows of the Cypress Forest Landward Margins 



Open margins of the cypress forest, away from the sea and sheltered 

 spaces or glades within the woods, whatever their cause, are very important 

 to the total esthetic make-up of the cypress areas. Views across these open- 

 ings reveal the luxuriant green walls of cypress foliage, and vistas of the 

 sea, and surf-battered rocks crowned with wind-dwarfed trees. Here we 

 have the contrast of two phases of cypress growth. It is difficult to associate 

 the battered cj'presses of the outer rocks with the same trees thriving richly 

 on the edges of sheltered inland swales. Such amazingly different forms are 

 assumed under different conditions. 



The distributional pattern of the cypress grove, typically a crescent with 

 its thick middle portion on the outer end of a granitic point and the two 

 tapering points trailing back toward the heads of coves on either side, 

 follows largely the pattern of fog penetration when being "burned off" 

 b}' the sun over the heated land, and also the pattern which one would 

 expect a given density of salt from the breakers to penetrate under similar 



