92 HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES. 



even then it cannot be called either beautiful or distinct. The 

 leaves are dark and dull of colour, 3 inches long, and arranged 

 two in a sheath. 



It produces the " yellow pine " of commerce. 



P- monophylla, Torrey. {Synonym: P. Fretnon- 

 tiana, Endlicher). Sierra Nevada, Utah. For planting in 

 grounds of small extent this tree has several valuable quali- 

 fications. It is of low growth, never more than 20 feet high, 

 strictly pyramidal when young, but becoming loose and 

 rather straggling with age, the foliage being thickly produced 

 and of an unusual and decidedly pleasing glaucous tint. 

 Even in the reddish, scaly bark there is something out of the 

 common with pines in general. The leaves are solitary and 

 rounded, very rarely in pairs, and when so, semi-cylindrical 

 and adherent for the greater part of the length, nearly 2 

 inches long, and of an oily or shining green tint. Contrasting 

 markedly with the glaucous green foliage are the reddish- 

 brown cones, each about 2\ inches long, with stout, thick scales, 

 and large wingless seeds. The seeds are delicately flavoured, 

 and supply the Indian tribes of the Sierra Nevada with an 

 important article of food. In this country, where the tree is 

 quite hardy, the finest specimens are growing on gravelly soil. 



P. lTlonta.na,^ Duroi. {Synonyms: P. silvestris mojztana, 

 Alton ; P. Mttgho, Poiret ; P. Pumilio, Haencke ; P. Mughus^ 

 Scopoli ; P. sangiiinea^ Lapeyrouse ; P. tmcinata. Ram.) Sub- 

 Alpine districts of Central and Southern Europe. 1779. 

 In gardens, under the above synonyms, the mountain pine is 

 freely distributed, but as the so-called species and varieties 

 are much alike, they are here classed under the present collec- 

 tive title of P. montana. The habit in this country is that of 

 a wide-spreading and much branched bush of rarely more 

 than 16 feet in height, many of the branches shooting out 

 from the main stem at only a short distance from ground 

 level, but with an upward inclination. 



A distinctive feature of the tree is the very prominent 



ruddy buds, as also the rich tint of the ample foliage, which is 



^ For illustrated article of mine on P. montana^ see The Garden^ vol. xxx. i886. 



