460 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFER^ 



irregularly disposed towards the top and remarkable for their 

 scanty foliage, Barh of trunk greyish brown, dividing into 

 irregular plates, exposing the reddish brown cortex beneath. 

 Young shoots slender, without down, glaucous, prominently 

 ridged. Winter buds narrowly cylindric, acute, |-1 in. long ; 

 scales closely pressed, fringed and more or less coated with resin. 

 Leaves in threes, lasting 3 years, sparsely arranged on the branch- 

 lets, spreading or drooping, greyish green, 9-12 in. long, minutely 

 toothed on the margins, ending in a horny point, stomatic lines on 

 each surface ; resin canals median ; basal sheath about 1 in. long. 

 Cones lateral, remaining on the tree 1-7 years after releasing the 

 seeds and when falling breaking away near the base, ovoid, 

 reflexed, 6-10 in. long and 4-6 in. wide, on short stout stalks ; 

 scales dark brown, woody, about 2 in. long with an obliquely 

 raised, pyramidal, terminal portion which is prolonged into a 

 talon-like hook ; basal scales more or less deflexed. Seeds in 

 deep hollows on the scales, dark brown or blackish, | in. long, wing 

 thick with a short membraneous margin. 



P. Sabiniana differs from the other three-leaved pines in its 

 grey-green, sparsely arranged foliage. From P. Coulteri, its near 

 aUy, it also differs in the shorter seed wing, but intermediates 

 between the two species are said to occur. A form with the cone 

 scales more strongly hooked and with slightly longer seed wings 

 has been named var. explicata by Jepson. 



The Digger pine is a native of California where it is found on 

 the arid foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges at 

 altitudes varying from 250-4,900 ft. It was discovered by 

 Douglas in 1826 and introduced into cultivation by him in 1832. 



Wood soft, weak, brittle and very resinous. Heartwood Hght 

 brown or reddish, sap wood yellow. It is not durable and except 

 for local use has no commercial value. The seeds are edible and 

 at one time formed an important article of food for the Indians, 

 who used them in the same way as the seeds of the various nut 

 pines. The name of Digger pine is taken from the Digger tribe of 

 Indians. A medicinal oil has been obtained from the resin. 



The tree thrives in the British Isles, but is better adapted for 

 the milder than for the colder parts. It succeeds in well-drained, 

 light loamy soil, and is sometimes met with as a medium-sized, 

 ornamental tree. 



Jepson, Silva of California, 86 (1910). 



Pinus serotina, Michaux. 

 Pond Pine. 



Pinus alopecuroides, Hort. Bastard Pine ; Black Pine ; Bull Pine ; 

 Loblolly Pine ; Marsh Pine ; INIeadow Pine ; Spruce Pine. 



This pine is closely allied to P. ricjida and is by some botanists 

 considered to be only a southern variety of that species. It is 



