PINACEAE. PINUS PARVIFLORA 23 



Nikko region it is rather rare, though on cliffs beyond Yumoto village there are 

 quite a number of trees growing with Tsuga diver sifolia Mast. On Adzuma- 

 san, on the borders of Iwashiro and Uzen province, in the ascent from the hot 

 springs beyond Toge, this Pine formerly was plentiful, but has been extensively 

 felled, although on the wind-swept upper slopes it forms scrub with Abies 

 Mariesii Mast, and Juniperus communis, var. nipponica Wils. It is more or less 

 common also in woods near Kadoma at the base of Hayachine-san in Rikuchu 

 province; round Lake Towada, in Mutsu province, it grows at water-level (alt. 

 about 500 m.) with Pinus densiflora S. & Z.; on Hakkoda-yama this Pine occurs 

 sparingly on cliffs. In Hokkaido P. parviflora grows in one or two localities in 

 Oshima province, on the island of Okushiri in Shiribeshi province and in the 

 southeast corner of Hidaka province. This is its most northern limit known, 

 and there it grows in mixed forests with Abies sachalinensis Mast., Picea Glehnii 

 Mast., Cercidiphyllum japonicum S. & Z., Ulmus japonica Sarg., Betula Ermanii 

 Cham, and Quercus mongolica, var. grosseserrata Rehd. & Wils. 



The Japanese White Pine is a tree averaging from 16 to 20 m. in height and in 

 girth of trunk from 1.5 to 2.5 m. The largest tree I saw was in Shikoku; it 

 measured 30 m. by 3.75 m. in girth. The bark on young trees is gray and 

 smooth and resin pustules are prominent; with age it becomes fissured into thin 

 scales of irregular shape. On trees growing in exposed places this scaly bark is 

 fairly persistent, but on old trees, and especially on those growing in moist 

 woods, it becomes loose and brittle, peels off in flakes and exposes a red- 

 brown under surface. The branches are relatively few and short, horizontally 

 spreading, often slightly upturned at the ends and form a narrow scrawny crown; 

 the trunk is bare of branches from one-third to two-thirds the height of the 

 tree. The shoots are more or less densely covered with a short pubescence 

 or are quite glabrous, or the stout shoots are glabrous and the weaker ones pubes- 

 cent. The winter-buds are short, ovoid, pale brown, and scarcely if at all resinous, 

 with scales free at the tips. The leaves are slender and curved, serrulate, from 3 

 to 8 (usually from 4 to 6) cm. long, with stomata on the ventral surface only; the 

 resin-ducts are external and dorsal. The cones are subterminal, short-peduncled 

 or subsessile, in clusters of from three to several, when ripe yellow-brown, some- 

 what lustrous, ovoid to nearly cylindrical, from 4 to 10 (usually from 6 to 8) cm. 

 long. They shed their seeds, turn nearly black and remain on the trees for years. 

 The seed is relatively large and the prominent wing varies in size according to 

 the shape and size of the cone. The wood is pale, brownish, resinous, close and 

 straight grained, of good quality and makes durable boards and planks for general 

 construction purposes. Since the tree is scarce it does not figure among the 

 valuable timber- trees of Japan except in the island of Shikoku. 



Since Mayr founded his P. pentaphylla there has been discussion whether it 

 was really distinct from P. parviflora, and in order to try and settle this point I 

 devoted much attention to this tree in Japan. I collected wild material in nine- 

 teen different localities from Shikoku to Mutsu province, north Hondo, and had 

 material collected for me, through the kind help of Dr. K. Miyabe, in five locali- 

 ties in Hokkaido. In addition I have before me material from two other places 

 in Hokkaido and from seven others in Hondo, including some collected by Mayr 

 and by him named P. pentaphylla. The largest cones I have are from the Nikko 

 region, but others from Shikoku and Hokkaido are scarcely smaller, and a great 

 variation may occur in the size of the cones on the same tree. Mayr states that 

 north of latitude 38 the wild Pine referred to P. parviflora is his P. pentaphylla, 



