388 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



feet in height, but some large ones are still found. 

 Free-growing white pine trees have live branches 

 to the ground and the trunk is short, taper, rapidly and 

 not infrequently it divides into two or more parts. In 

 the forest the stems have little taper and are without side 

 branches for M to 75 feet above the ground. The 

 branches spread horizontally and in old age the tops are 

 irregular and picturesquely flattened and tufted with 

 foliage. This feature of the tree is so characteristic that 

 an old tree may be 

 recognized by its 

 general appearance 

 almost as far as it 

 can be seen. Tho- 

 reau greatly ad- 

 mired the white 

 pines and wrote : 

 "Their flattened 

 boughs rest stra- 

 tum on stratum 

 like a cloud, a 

 green mackerel 

 sky, all branches 

 distinct like the 

 frond of a fern." 

 The bark on 

 branches and 

 young trunks is 

 thin, smooth and 

 greenish, but soon 

 turns light brown 

 and is later dark 

 and scaly. Large 

 trunks have thick, 

 dark gray bark, 

 with broad scaly 

 ridges separated 

 by shallow fur- 

 rows. 



Like all 

 the leaves 

 needle-like 

 borne in clusters. 

 The white pine is 

 easily told from 

 other native pines 

 in the region in 

 which it grows be- 

 cause its needles 

 are always in 

 groups of five. 

 Young leaves are 

 pale green and the 

 clusters are sur- 

 rounded at the 

 base by a paper- 

 like sheath. When 

 the leaves mature 

 this sheath falls 

 away and the 



pines, 



are 



and 



pi n K 



liutls 



WHITE 



Branch with needles ami terminal clutter of 

 A cluiter of five needles, one-half life aize 

 Tip of White pine needle, enlarged 

 Branch with ataminate flowers 

 Branch with (a) pistillate flowers on new 



year's growth 

 Branch with open and closed cone 

 Lower ide of a cone scale 



Upper irlc of a cone scale with two winged seeds 

 A wingrj seed, one-half life site 

 A seed, natural sire 



II. Section of *rrl with embryo, natural size 

 It. A seedling one half life sile 



leaves in each group stand apart giving to the 

 foliage a tasseled, feathery appearance which is more 

 pronounced because the needles are so soft and 

 flexible. The full grown leaves are from %y 2 to 

 5 inches long, bluish green in color, with a beautiful, 

 silvery sheen on one surface. When the leaves are 

 stirred by a breeze, the light color of the leaves is very 

 noticeable, and makes it apparent why this tree bears 

 the scientific name of Pinus Strobus. The leaves are tri- 

 angular in cross 

 section and the 

 edges are notched 

 with tiny saw 

 teeth. When the 

 five needles in a 

 cluster are pressed 

 together, it will be 

 seen that the edges 

 join to form a 

 cylinder. The 

 leaves die and fall 

 in September of 

 their second sea- 

 son or in June of 

 their third year. 



In May, when 

 the new growth 

 begins, the flow- 

 ers of the white 

 pine appear. The 

 pollen - producing 

 flowers are yellow- 

 ish, egg-shaped 

 bodies about one- 

 third of an inch 

 long, clustered at 

 the base of the 

 new growth. 

 When ripe, they 

 shed the bright yel- 

 low pollen very 

 abundantly and it 

 is carried long dis- 

 tances by the wind. 

 Each minute pol- 

 len grain is pro- 

 vided with two air 

 sacs that convert it 

 into a microscopic 

 balloon. The seed 

 producing flowers 

 are borne singly 

 or several together 

 on the upper 

 branches of the 

 trees. At first 

 they are slender, 

 upright, rose-col- 

 ored cones about 

 one-fourth of an 



From "Pennsylvania Trees" 



growth and (/.) one-year-old cone 



last 



