6 FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA 



with white felted leaves and pink flowers (Cistus albidus) are much 

 more abundant though they occur also in maquis. Certain herbs, too, 

 such as the thyme (Thymus vulgaris), the rue (Ruia angustifolia), and 

 the grass Brachypodium ramosum are specially abundant. Various 

 orchids, particularly several beautiful species of Ophrys, are also 

 characteristic of these woods, especially after they have been thinned. 



GARIGUES. 



When the Aleppo pine-wood is felled, the shrubs increase and 

 often form thickets which are, however, typically not so high nor so 

 dense as the rnaquis. In rocky places where the pines are not well 

 developed or are absent altogether the limestone scrub is very open, 

 and there is much bare rock between the shrubs. This type of 

 vegetation is called garigue, and bears somewhat the same relation to 

 Aleppo pine-wood as maquis bears to maritime pine-wood or cork- 

 oak-wood. In the garigues of Western Provence, for instance be- 

 tween Marseilles, Toulon, and Aix-en-Provence, the dwarf evergreen 

 oak (Quercus coccifera}, with leaves very much like holly leaves, is 

 specially abundant and often covers the ground of the open Aleppo 

 pine-woods, and especially the limestone slopes where the trees have 

 been felled, in continuous sheets which are exceedingly prickly to 

 walk through. Another abundant shrub of this region is the small- 

 flowered gorse ( Ulex parviflorus) which covers many of the hillsides 

 with sheets of gold from January to March. 



Garigue has on the whole a drier soil than maquis and the plants 

 show many adaptations to drought. 



STONE PINE- WOODS. 



The stone pine (Pinus Pinea), or "pin parasol,'' is a tree of very 

 different habit from the other two species of pine, which are pyra- 

 midal in shape unless the leading shoot is destroyed or bent by the 

 wind. From the very first the branches of the seedling stone pine 

 grow in such a manner as to produce a spherical habit. This is main- 

 tained for a considerable time, and then as the tree increases in 

 height the lower branches die off and the crown of the tree takes the 

 characteristic umbrella shape so familiar in Turner's Italian pictures. 

 The umbrella-shaped crown of the stone pine casts a very dense shade, 

 and the thick woods of this tree which occur in places along the 

 Riviera coast are almost bare of undergrowth. The needles of the 

 stone pine are not so long and stout as those of the maritime pine, 

 but they are of a peculiarly rich deep green colour, and a stone pine- 

 wood seen against the blue Mediterranean sky is strikingly beautiful in 

 colour, form, and texture. The cones of the stone pine are much 

 larger than those of the Aleppo pine, but shorter and much more 

 rounded at the top than those of the maritime pine. The seeds are 

 edible and are sometimes served as dessert in the Riviera hotels or 

 stuck into eating chocolate and biscuits. 



