14 KEY AND FLORA 



C 



Scales of the cone few, without bracts. Leaves evergreen, generally scale- 

 like or awl-shaped. 



Cones dry and thin-scaled. Thuja, VII 



Cones berry-like. Juniperus, VIII 



I. PINUS L. 



Sterile flowers somewhat resembling inconspicuous catkins, 

 borne at the base of the young shoot of the season, each flower 

 consisting of pollen-scales in spiral groups (Fig. 1, 2). Fertile 

 flower spikes consisting of spirally arranged carpel scales, each 

 scale springing from the axil of a bract and bearing at its own 

 base two ovules (Fig. 1, 3). Fruit a cone, formed of the thick- 

 ened carpellary scales, ripening the second autumn after the 

 flower opens. Primary leaves, thin and chaffy bud scales, from 

 the axils of which spring the bundles of 2-5 nearly persistent, 

 needle-like, evergreen leaves, 1-15 in. long (Fig. 1). 



1. P. Strobus L. WHITE PINE. A tall tree, 75-160 ft. high, much 

 branched and spreading when growing in open ground, but often 

 with few or no living branches below the height of 100 ft. when 

 growing in dense forests. Leaves clustered in fives, slender, 3-4 in. 

 long, smooth and pale or with a whitish bloom. Cones 5-6 in. long, 

 not stout. The wood is soft, durable, does not readily warp, and is 

 therefore very valuable for lumber. In light soil, commonest N. 



2. P. Taeda L. LOBLOLLY PINE, OLDFIELD PINE. A large tree ; 

 bark very thick and deeply furrowed, becoming flaky with age; twigs 

 scaly. Leaves in threes, 6-10 in. long, slender, very flexible ; sheaths 

 f 1 in. long. Cones solitary, oblong-conical, 3-5 in. long ; scales 

 thickened at the apex, the transverse ridge very prominent and 

 armed with a short, stout, straight or recurved spine. Common, and 

 often springing up in old fields; trunk containing ~a large proportion 

 of sapwood; timber of little value for outside work.* 1 



3. P. rigida Mill. NORTHERN PITCH PINE. A stout tree, 30-80 ft. 

 high, with rough, scaly bark. Leaves in threes, 3-5 in. long, stiff and 

 flattened. Cones ovoid-conical, 2-3 in. long, their scales tipped with 

 a short, abruptly curved spine. Wood hard, coarse, and resinous, 

 mainly used for fuel. Poor, sandy soil, especially eastward. 



1 Descriptions followed by an asterisk are taken (more or less simplified) 

 from Professor Tracy's flora in the Southern States Edition. 



