Vkkmont Shrubs and Woody Vini^s 63 



PINE FAMILY. CONIFERAE i 



The plants of the pine family are nearly all evergreen trees, 

 the pines, spruces, hemlocks, etc. They are characterized by 

 their cone-like fruit and needle or scale-shaped leaves. Most of 

 them are therefore described in an earlier bulletin, "Trees of 

 Vermont."^ 



Three of these, however, are evergreen shrubs as they 

 occur in Vermont, namely, the two junipers and the yew. The 

 junipers and yew differ from the other Vermont conifers in 

 having fleshy, berry-like fruits instead of dry, scaly cones. The 

 young juniper berries are grayish-white, becoming bluish as 

 they ripen, while those of the yew are green when young and 

 turn to a beautifully bright coral-red in late summer. 



THE JUNIPERS 



There are three species of juniper in Vermont, the "red 

 cedar," a well known and valuable tree, which has an upright 

 trunk typically 20 to 40 feet high (see "Trees of Vermont") and 

 the following two shrubs. 



KEY FOR DISTINGUISHING THE TWO SHRUBBY JUNIl'ERS 



Scale-like leaves spreading in whorls of three, berry-like fruits borne 

 on the sides of the twigs (lateral) Common juniper. 



Scale-like leaves pressed close to stem, mostly opposite, berry-like 

 fruits on the end of twig (terminal) Shrubby red cedar. 



* The so-called "ground pines" are low evergreen plants common 

 in Vermont woods and so closely resembling small pines and spruces 

 that to avoid confusion they deserve mention here. There are several 

 kinds but all are quite similar in general character. The branches, 

 thickly covered with evergreen scale-like leaves, rise a few inches 

 above the ground, either in small clusters or borne on an extensively 

 creeping cord-like stem. The fruits on the commonest species are 

 borne on slender cone-like clusters, one-eighth inch in diameter by one 

 inch long, terminating the upper branches. The commoner species 

 with trailing stems are frequently gathered in late autumn for mak- 

 ing holiday wreaths, and hence are termed "Christmas greens." Al- 

 tliough having so close a resemblance to the conifers they really 

 belong to the fern family and are best called club moss or Lycopodium. 



= "The Trees of Vermont," Vt. Sta. Bui. 73 (1899). This contains 

 descriptions of all Vermont trees and, since it supplements the pres- 

 ent bulletin at many points, it will frequently be referred to in this 

 text. It may be secured and without charge so long as the now some- 

 what limited supply lasts. Address Experiment Station, Burlington, 

 Vt. 



