32 



The Pines 



dark yellow to nearly black, and roughened with the persistent bases of the bud- 

 scales; branch -buds broadly ovoid, 8 to 12 mm. long, tapering upward to a sharp 

 tip. The leaves jire in sheathed fascicles of 3, seldom in 4's, glaucous green, j-.-^ 

 to 12.5 cm. long, closely and minutely toothed, the tip stiff; they have many rows 



of deep stomata on all 3 faces 

 and contain 5 to 7 unequal resin- 

 ducts, some of which are in the 

 inner tissue, and 2 fibrovascular 

 bundles. They persist for three 

 or four years. The staminate 

 flowers are in crowded clusters, 

 oblong-cyhndric, 1.5 to 2 cm. 

 long, their anthers dark reddish- 

 yellow. The pistillate flowers 

 are lateral, in pairs or clusters, 

 short-stalked, ovoid-oblong, their 

 scales gradually tapering to a 

 slender tip. The cones are hori- 

 zontal or slightly drooping, ovoid 

 or globular-ovoid, 4 to 6 cm. 

 long, light yellowish brown, and 

 remain closed for several years 

 before dropping the seed, after which they still persist for two or three years 

 more; the scales are rounded at the apex and thickened by a dark oblong knob, 

 terminated by a slender, incurved, usually deciduous prickle; seed about 3 mm. 

 long, nearly black, often ridged and usually roughened; wing thin and very deli- 

 cate, striped and shining, narrowly oblong, about 18 mm. long, 3 to 5 mm. wide; 

 cotyledons 4 to 6. 



The wood is soft, brittle, coarse-grained, dark orange-colored, ver}^ resinous; 

 its specific gravity is about 0.79; it is sometimes used for masts and for construc- 

 tion timbers, and occasionally sawed into lumber. The tree is locally tapped for 

 turpentine. 



It is also known as Loblolly pine. Marsh pine. Bull pine. Black pine, Bastard 

 pine, Meadow pine, and Spruce pine. 



Fig. 24.- Pond Pine. 



24. SHORT-LEAVED PINE Pinus echinata Miller 



Pinus mitis Michaux 



This tree grows in poor sandy or clayey soil from southern New York and 

 New Jersey to Florida, westward to Illinois, Kansas, and northeastern Texas. 

 It is most abundant and of greatest development in the southwestern part of its 

 range, where it reaches a maximum height of 40 meters, with a trunk diameter of 

 1.5 m. 



