2244 



ATIBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART HI. 



2132 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves three in a sheath, much longer than the cones, 

 flexible, tortuous, with short sheaths ; crest of the anthers rounded, entu-e. 

 Cones ovate, reflexed, with the apices 

 of the scales flattened, with a raised 

 process ia the middle, terminating in 

 a conical, minute, recurved spine, 

 V M|a t slightly quadrangular. Buds, in Dou- 

 \||«||^glas's specimen, |in, long and | in. 

 ^if^*^,™ broad ; cylindrical, with straight sides, 

 \ ' i ;v';r rounded "like a dome at the extremity, 

 but with a prominent blunt point ; dark 

 brown, and covered with resin. Buds, 

 on the living tree in the Horticultural 

 Society's Garden (see Jig. 2132.), from 

 lin. to l|^in. long, and from fin, to 

 H in. broad; smooth, cylindrical, with a long point ; 

 reddish brown, and covered with a fine white bloom, 

 consisting of fine particles of resin, surrounded by 

 two or more smaller buds. Leaves disposed in pa- 

 rallel spirals ; in Douglas's specimen (seefg. 2133.), 

 from 9 in. to 1 1 in. long ; 3 in a sheath, which is from 

 I in, to 1 in. in length, with numerous fine rings ; ' 

 scales of the leaves persistent on the wood, even of 

 two years' or three years' growth. Leaves, on the 

 living plant, from 7 in. to 9 in. long. The cone (see 

 /g.2134.), in Douglas's specimen, is deformed, and 



very imperfectly 

 developed ; it is 

 only 3 in. long, and 

 Jin. broad. The 

 scales are termi- 

 nated in flattened 

 processes, scarcely 

 ribbed in any direc- 

 tion. In the centre 

 of the process is a 

 protuberance, large 

 in proportion to 



the scale, which terminates in a sharp 

 prickle, pointing outwards. Scale 1 in. 

 long, and ^in. broad; dark brown. Seed 

 -p^in. long, and fin. broad; dark brown, 

 with the wing nearly 1 in. in length, and 

 ^ in. in breadth ; wings of a yellowish 

 brown. The following description, given 

 in Lawson's Manual, of a young tree of 

 P. ponderosa, taken from the specimen 

 growing in the Caledonian Horticultural 

 Socicty'sGarden, which, in 1837, was 15 ft. 

 high, is at once correct and character- 

 istic : — " In its habit of growth, P. pon- 

 derosa seems to surpass all others of the genus for strength and luxuriance. 

 The branches arc few, regularly verticillated, horizontal, and seem inclined to 

 assume a [jendulous or drooping habit as the tree becomes old ; central or top 

 shoot often more than an inch in diameter, and of proportionable length. 

 Buds large, and free from resin. Leaves tiiickly set, 9 in. to 1 ft. or 1 ft. 2 in. 

 in length ; thick, rigid, and nearly straight ; rounded on the exterior, and 

 having a longitudinal prominent rib, together with minute channels, on the in- 



"^^^i^ 



