PINACEiE 377 



high. There are several trees upwards of 25 ft. high at Kew, and 

 good specimens are occasionally seen in other collections. 



Shaw, he. cit. p. 40 (1910) ; Elwes and Henry, loc. cit. 1050 (1910), 



Pinus canariensis, C. Smith. 

 Canary Island Pine. 



Tea Wood. 



A tree 80-100 ft. high and 10 ft. or more in girth in the Canary 

 Islands, with spreading branches and drooping branchlets, form- 

 ing a tree of somewhat weeping habit. Bark thick, reddish, 

 slightly fissured, dividing into irregular scales. Young shoots 

 without down, yellow, prominently ridged. Winter buds large, 

 ovoid, acute, with lance-shaped, deeply fringed scales, which are 

 free at the tips. Leaves in threes, highly glaucous on seedlings 

 and very young trees, grass green on older specimens, persist- 

 ing 2 years, densely crowded on the branchlets, flexible, 7-12 in. 

 long, margins finely toothed, apex-pointed, 2-4 stomatic lines 

 on each surface ; resin canals median ; basal sheath persistent, 

 I in. long. Cones sub-terminal, solitary, or clustered, 6-9 in, 

 long, 3 in. broad, nut-brown in colour, deflexed or pendent on 

 short, stout, scaly stalks; scales thick, about If in. long by 

 I in. broad, the terminal portion sharply ridged with a dark brown, 

 prominent apex. Seed | in. long, with a wing nearly three times 

 its length. 



P. canariensis is distinguished from other three-leaved pines 

 by its yellow shoots, fringed bud-scales, long, slender leaves, and 

 large cones. It appears to be most closely related to P. longifolia 

 amongst Old World species. 



Native of the Canary Islands, where it grows on dry, exposed 

 slopes and was formerly widely spread. Large woods of it still 

 exist in Tenerife, La Palma, and Grand Canary, at altitudes of 

 3,700-6,600 ft. Most of the largest recorded trees have disap- 

 peared. 



Wood strong and serviceable, rather similar in appearance 

 to that of the Indian P. Merkusii and P. caribcea of Florida and 

 the Bahamas. Heartwood and sapwood very distinct, the former 

 reddish brown, the latter yellow. It has excellent lasting quaUties 

 and may be classed amongst the best grades of pine wood. In 

 the dry climate of the Canaries objects built of heartwood have 

 remained sound after full exposure to weather for 200 years. 

 A block of heartwood in the Museums at Kew weigh 68 lb. 3 oz. 

 per cubic ft. Unfortunately the available supply of timber is 

 scarcely sufficient to supply local demands, and there is none for 

 export. The fine and soft fallen leaves of the Canary Island 

 pine are utilized to a considerable extent with those of Musa 

 Cavendishii for packing Canary Island bananas, the fine packing 

 material being known as " grass " amongst importers. 



