coast south of San Francisco Bay; it is common from Point 

 Reyes northward into Mendocino County. A second subspecies 

 is L. macrantha subsp. bakeri (named after Milo Baker, an im- 

 portant botanical explorer of the North Coast Ranges), which is 

 restricted to shaded locaHties that occur slightly inland from 

 those occupied by subsp. macrantha. The third subspecies is L. 

 macrantha subsp. prisca, which is restricted to a few coastal 

 headlands in southern Oregon. 



The following chart will give you an idea of the hierarchiaal 

 nature of the taxonomic system: 



TAXONOMIC CHARACTERS MEMBERS HAVE TAXONOMIC 



Pinus 



Pinaceae 



Coniferales 



1 . Leaves of two kinds 



2. Cones maturing after first year 



3. Cone scales with minute bracts 



1 . Cone scales overlapping 



2. Cone scales with 2 seeds 



1. Cone dry, with several scales 



2. 1 to several seeds per cone 



3. Leaves needle-like (or scale-like) 



Genus 



Family 



Order 



Using the characteristics in the preceding chart, one can guess 

 that although some other pine species have leaves with one vas- 

 cular strand (vein) or five leaves per cluster or sharp-pointed 

 leaves or unarmed cones, only Sugar Pine has all of these charac- 

 ters combined. However, its long cones are probably unique in 

 the genus. The three characters listed at the generic level occur 

 only in Pinus, and in all species of pines. The two traits given 

 at the family level are present in the Pinaceae (pine family) but 

 not together in other families. The order (Coniferales), which is 

 the next higher and more inclusive taxonomic rank, is defined 

 (among other things) by the concurrence of the three characters 

 listed there. 



10 



