\ 



418 lllti PJKtt FAMILY. (Phut 



seeds ; or of Thuia, very near. Cypress, but with flattened branches, 

 and small, ovate, dry cones, with few seeds ; or of Taxodium, with 

 deciduous leaves, and a small cone near that of Cypress ; besides the 

 Sequoias (including the Wellingtonia) of California, Cryptomeria from 

 Japan, Araucaria of Chili, Cedars of Lebanon and India (Deodara), and 

 others. 



' I, PINUS. PINE. 



Trees, with linear or subulate leaves. Male- catkins closely imbrU 

 cated, with 2 adnate anther-cells on the inside of each scale (at least 

 apparently so, for in fact the scale is the connectivum of the anther, 

 and the whole catkin thus consists of nothing but closely imbricated 

 anthers). Female catkins short, consisting of closely imbricated 

 scales, with 2 ovules on the inside of each ; the foramen, or open 

 pore at the top of the ovule, turned downwards. Fruit a cone, con- 

 sisting of more or less hardened, imbricated scales, each one cover- 

 ing 2 winged seeds. 



A large genus, constituting the great mass of the Coniferaz of the 

 northern hemisphere, scarcely peaetrating into the tropics, and un- 

 known in the southern hemisphere. 



The cultivated species are very numerous, belonging to four principal 

 sections or genera, viz. : 1. The true Pines, with subulate evergreen 

 leaves, in clusters of 2, 3, or 5, and hard cones with persistent scales, 

 including, besides the Scotch P., the Pinaster or maritime P., the 

 Weymouth P.,1he Roman P., &c. 2. The Spruces (Picea), with shorter, 

 flattened or angular leaves, arranged singly and often in two opposite 

 ranks, and with thin persistent scales to the pendulous cones, in- 

 cluding the common or Norway Spruce, now almost naturalised in 

 Britain, the Hemlock. Spruce, and the Douglas Fir, &c. 3. The Firs 

 (Abies), with flattened leaves and large erect cones with deciduous 

 scales, as the silver Fir. 4. The Larches (Larix), with short, fine, 

 deciduous leaves, in dense clusters, and small erect cones with thin 

 persistent scales ; and 5. The Cedars of Lebanon, and Deodara (Cedrus), 

 with short, evergreen, subulate leaves, clustered as in Larix, and large, 

 erect, hard closely packed cones with deciduous scales. [The so-called 

 " Scotch Fir" is no Fir, but a Pine proper.] 



1. P. sylyestris, Linn. (fig. 936). Scotch, Norway, or Riga. A 

 tree of considerable size; the main trunk simple or forked, with 

 a reddish bark, and a rathe* dense head, but less so than in many 

 other species. Leaves stiffly subulate, evergreen, seldom above 2 

 inches long, in pairs, sheathed by short, scarious scales. Cones sessile, 

 ovoid, conical, recurved when young; the scales hard and woody, 

 much thickened upwards, with a short, thick point, often turned 

 backwards in the lower scales of one side of the cone, but generally 

 disappearing as the cone ripens. Seeds with an obliquely lanceolate, 

 obtuse wing, 2 or 3 times as long as the seed itself. 



Widely distributed over northern and central Europe and Russian 

 Asia, chiefly in granitic or sandy soils, and in the mountains of southern 

 Europe and the Caucasus. Indigenous in the Scotch Highlands, and 

 formerly in Ireland ; planted all over Britain, and quite naturalised. 

 PL. spring. 



