PITCH PINE (Pinus rigida, Mill.). 50 to 75 feet. Irreg- 

 ular, loose-headed tree, with short trunk and gnarled limbs. 

 Bark thick, dark purplish red, with wide, scaly plates between 

 deep, irregular fissures; limbs rough, twigs green, becoming 

 orange. Wood brittle, soft, pale red, coarse-grained, used for 

 charcoal and fuel, rarely for lumber. Leaves in 3's, stiff, dark 

 green, 3 to 5 inches long, standing out from stem, in black, 

 persistent sheaths. Deciduous during second year. Flowers 

 clustered, short-stemmed, staminate yellow spikes; pistillate 

 pale green with rose tinge. Fruit ripe after two seasons, sol- 

 itary or clustered, ovate cones, brown, 1 to 3 inches long, with 

 recurved prickles on the flat scales. Persistent many years, 

 often swallowed up in the wood. Dist.: New Brunswick to 

 Georgia; west to Ontario and Kentucky. 



