THE AUSTRIAN PINE 



ONE who is familiar with our native Red Pine will readily see striking resemblances 

 between this species and the Austrian Pine. The paired leaves are almost 

 identical in shape and size, as well as in their manner of growth along the 

 branches. The cones of the Austrian species are somewhat the larger and slightly different 

 in shape, this being perhaps the most striking peculiarity which distinguishes the two. 

 The Austrian Pine is a mountainous species from eastern Europe and was one of the 

 earliest foreign evergreens to be introduced into America, being for many years largely 

 planted in parks and private grounds as an ornamental tree. It has many advantages for 

 this purpose, being hardy and resistant to extremes of temperature, growing fairly rapidly, 

 and being easily obtainable from nurserymen. It should not, however, supplant our native 

 species to too great an extent. It lacks the grace and beauty of the White Pine and seldom 

 attains the majestic appearance of the Red Pine. 



The needles of the Austrian Pine are commonly about four inches long, with a 

 shiny dark-green surface, slightly lighter colored acute points, and a sheath at the base 

 about a quarter of an inch in length. The terminal buds have a long, acuminate point and 

 two or three rows of basal scales which have long, curiously-fringed tips that project 

 nearly at right angles in a most characteristic fashion, forming, in fact, a rosette around 

 the lower half of the bud. The bark of the latest season's shoots is greenish brown, while 

 the sheaths around the bases of the needles are of a distinct gray color. The cones vary 

 in length from an inch and a half to two inches, are generally rather ovate when closed, 

 and have much of the ends of the scales exposed to view. They remain upon the tree 

 for several years and generally do not open until two years after they have reached 

 full size. On the accompanying plate the abundant masses of pollen-bearing flowers are 

 shown next to the cone, while next to these may be seen the seed-bearing flowers upon 

 the tip of the new shoot. The species is also sometimes called the Black Pine. 



Botanically the Austrian Pine is a variety of that Corsican Pine (Pinus Laricio) 

 being distinguished by its dark-green rigid leaves and its grayish-brown twigs. There 

 are four other varieties of Corsican Pine recommended for landscape planting, all 

 being notable for rapidity of growth and darkness of foliage. One of the most inter- 

 esting is the Pygmy Pine (var. pygmata) which is a bushy pine. 



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