148. PlNUS CONTORTA CALIFORNIA SCRUB PlNE. 53 



HABITAT. The most widely distributed of the western pines, being 

 found from Mexico northward among the mountains of the Pacific 

 Region into British Columbia, and eastward as far as the Black Hills of 

 Dakota, thriving on dry rocky mountain slopes, and forming extensive 

 tracts of forest interspersed with Sugar Pine, White Fir, etc. It attains 

 its greatest size on the Sierra Nevada Mountains of central and 

 northern California. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood heavy, hard, strong, brittle, compact, 

 not durable in contact with the soil, very resinous and of a light reddish- 

 brown color, with thick sap-wood nearly white. Specific Gravity, 0.4715 ; 

 Percentage of Ash, 0.35; Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.4698; 

 Coefficient of Elasticity, 88731; Modulus of Rapture, 730; Resistance to 

 Longitudinal Pressure, 381 ; Resistance to Indentation, 107 ; Weight of 

 a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 29.38. 



USES. A tree of great economic value, being largely manufactured 

 into lumber for general construction purposes and for railway ties, etc. 

 It is a favorite wood for " shakes " in some localities where the Redwood 

 is not found, as it splits with great facility. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES are those of the turpentine, etc., which may 

 be derived from the tree, though not the commercial source. 



148. PINUS CONTORTA, DOUGL. 

 CALIFORNIA SCRUB PINE. 



Ger., Calif ornianische Sclilechte Fichte ; Fr., Pin tordu de Cali- 

 fornie ; Sp., Pino torcido. 



Leaves in pairs, mostly 1-2| in. long with sheaths in. or less in length, rigid, 

 closely serulate, deeply channeled, bracts scarcely fringed. Staminate aments cylin- 

 drical-oblong in. long; anthers with semi-circular crests. Cones small, 1-3 in. long, 

 subterminal. singly or two or more together, sessile or nearly so, cylindrical- ovoid 

 when closed oblique, often curved, deflected, many persisting long upon the tree ; 

 scales obtusely pointed, thickened and armed with a long and rather weak prickle ; 

 seed blackish, wing \ in long, widest above the base and tapering upward ; cotyle-; 

 dons 5, sometimes 4. 



(The specific name contorta, is the Latin for twsted, or distorted.) 



This interesting little pine with very dense top is found close along the 

 bluffs of the Pacific Coast like a breastworks in battling against the 

 tempests from the ocean, and behind which the taller trees can grow in 

 safety. In these situations the outermost trees are small with foliage 

 massed together, and those further back attaining the height of 30 or 40 

 ft. (10 m.) with wide rounded close top and with trunk 1-2 ft. (0.60m.) 

 or sometimes more in diameter. Occasionally trees are found alone in 



