THE BIG CONE SPRUCE 



Pseudotsuga macrocarpa TORR. 



This is ordinarily the first cone bear- 

 ing tree you find when climbing the 

 mountain canyons. It is peculiar to 

 Southern California, being found no- 

 where north of Santa Barbara County. 

 While it particularly seeks the shades of 

 the deep canyons, where it huddles close 

 to the streams and grows very straight 

 and tall, it also ventures out in places 

 high up on the steep north slopes be- 

 tween the chaparral and yellow pine belt 

 where it forms lone and picturesque 

 groups. 



Its worst enemies are the frequent 

 fires which sweep through the chapar- 

 ral. It is a slow seeder and once fire- 

 destroyed, it is a long time before the 

 area is reforested. One of the saddest 

 sights the tree lover meets as he ascends 

 the lower slopes and canyons are the 

 blackened forms of the spruces silhou- 



53 



