730 



THE NATURE BOOK 



arranged singly and in a close spiral on of the pendent branchlets. 

 the young, long shoots, but elsewhere what Tennyson refers to as 

 are in spreading tufts. They are of a very plumelets " of the Larch. 



These are 

 the " rosy 

 They are, 



'»*s^^«5;i>^ 



LARCH. 



pure shining green in spring, deepening 

 later, and changing to yellow before their 

 fall in autumn. In texture they are 

 soft, not hard and leathery as are those 

 of the evergreens. Each needle is 

 flattened. 



The flowers, which appear at the same 

 time as the needles, are oval in shape. 

 The pollen-bearing flowers are 3'ellow, the 

 fruit-producing flowers a purplish red, 

 erect by a manifest effort on the sides 



however, on some trees a greenish white. 

 Since these flowers grow abundantly on the 

 lower branches, and there is. in conse- 

 quence, no urgent need for the pollen's 

 upward flight, its grains are not equipped 

 with air bladders as is usual with the Pines. 

 The cones, which mature and ripen their 

 seeds in a single season, are about an 

 inch long. Their scales open in the following 

 spring, liberating the winged seeds. These 

 are gradually shaken out by the wind, but 



