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PINUS PINEA. 



Pinus pima, or the Stone Pine as it is usually called in this country 

 on account of the hard bony shell which encloses the seed, is endemic 

 in the Mediterranean region from Portugal to Asia Minor and Syria ; 

 also in several localities in north Africa. On the coast range of 

 Andalusia it ascends to 4,000 feet above sea-level, but usually prefers 

 the lower hills near the coast, in places formerly forming forests of 

 considerable extent but which are now greatly diminished in order to 

 supply wood for constructive purposes and for fuel to the inhabitants 

 of the region. 



Fig. 96. The Stone Pine at Glenthorne. 



As Pinus pinea is nowhere found wild north of the 45th parallel 

 of north latitude its power to withstand severe cold is limited. It 

 was introduced into Great Britain prior to 1548, as it is mentioned in 

 Turner's "Names of Herbes" published in that year, but few aged trees 

 are to be seen in this country; those that have survived the severe 

 winters that occur at intervals in our climate show but imperfectly 

 the striking characters that make this Pine so picturesque an object 

 in southern Europe. One of the accompanying illustrations represents 



