Handbook of Tkees of the ISTortiiekn States and Canada. 



33 



This rare troo is coiirmcd to the Blue Ridge 

 of the Allegheny Mts., ranging in altitude from 

 about ^UOO to ;W}00 ft., in cnnipany with tiie 

 eoiuuion llenih.k. \Miite I'ine. various Oaks, 

 lliekories. Sugar Maple, Sour-wood, Silver- 

 bell Tree, ete., or oceasioiuillv forinint: (luite 



exclusive groves. 



our-woou 

 lly forming (jt 

 It rarely exceeds 7t) ft. in 

 lieiglit or 2 ft. in diameter of trunk, and has 

 rather comjiact pyramidal top and dark fur- 

 rowed bark of trunk. It is so often confined to 

 Bteep and almost inaccessible crags with roots 

 intertwined among the rocks that we are led 

 to infer that it alone is capable of maintain- 

 ing a foothold in such localities, and that the 

 other trees of the forest ninst have crowded it 

 out from places of easier footing. It is a tree 

 well worthy of ornamental planting for which 

 it is occasionally employed. 



Its wood is very similar to that of tlie com- 

 mon Hemlock, a cu. ft. weigliing 20.04 lbs., 

 and applicable to the same uses though not 

 abundant enough to be of commercial im- 

 portance.! 



I. ((ins flat. linear. ^U-% in. Ions, potiolate. 

 olitiisc and often refuse at apex, lustrous dark 

 green and with conspicuous central groove alcove, 

 marked with white bands of 7 or 8 rows of 

 stoniata on each side of the midrib beneath and 

 forming a flatfish spray but not as flat as that of 

 the 7'. raiwdrnsis. Flowers: staminate purplish ; 

 pistiUate purple with broad ovate bracts about as 

 Ions; as the scales. Cours ohions, 1-1 i/o in. long 

 with short stalks and oblong obtuse fine but 

 scarcely woody puberulous scales widely spreading 

 at maturity and ample bracts about half as long 

 as scales ; seeds about one-sixth in. long with 

 large wing broadest near the base. 



.\. W.. XII 



200. 



