26 CONIFERS AND TAXADS OF JAPAN 



seen at Yoshida the Red Pine is strikingly picturesque, with its tall reddish trunk 

 and thin mop-like crown. It grows from 30 to 35 m. tall and in girth of trunk 

 from 3 to 4 m. The trunk is usually straight, sometimes somewhat leaning, and 

 is bare of branches for one-half to three-fourths the height of the tree. The 

 bark is orange-red, thin and scaly, but on old trees near the base of the trunk it 

 is firmer, grayish and fissured in oblong and rectangular plates. The branches 

 are rather short and horizontally disposed; sometimes they are slightly ascending, 

 sometimes rather recurved and form a more or less flattened oval crown. The 

 young shoots are more or less pruinose and the terminal buds are reddish brown, 

 cylindrical, acute, and slightly resinous, with the scales free at the tips. The 

 leaves are in pairs, dull, grayish green, slender, from 8 to 12 cm. long, twisted, 

 finely serrulate, with stomata on both surfaces and marginal resin-ducts. The 

 cone is subterminal, subsessile and spreading, symmetrical, ovoid-conic, from 3 to 

 5 cm. long, and dull pale tawny yellow in color, with a weak hold on the branch, 

 though it often persists for two or three years. The wood is resinous, coarse- 

 grained, but strong, and is used in quantity, since it is cheap, in all sorts of general 

 construction work and for fuel. Though abundantly planted on barren soils for 

 reafforestation from time immemorial the Red Pine is not much planted in the 

 parks, temple grounds and gardens of Japan, where the favorite is P. Thunbergii 

 Parl. There are, however, several dwarf, variegated and otherwise abnormal forms 

 of P. densiflora which are great favorites with the Japanese and are perpetuated 

 by grafting on P. Thunbergii Parl. The best of these is Tanyosho (P. densiflora, 

 var. umbraculifera Mayr (Plate XII), which has a dense, rounded, umbrella- 

 like crown and grows from 2 to 4 m. tall. This is one of the most useful and ornamen- 

 tal of low-growing Pines. Another dwarf form is that called Bandaisho (f . globosa 

 Mayr). In all Mayr enumerates some 22 forms of the Japanese Red Pine, but 

 the only others that need be mentioned here are the weeping form (f . pendula Mayr) 

 and the golden form (f. aurea Mayr), often met with in gardens in this country 

 and in Europe under the erroneous name of Pinus Massoniana aurea. This form 

 is well distinguished by its name. It was introduced to this country by Dr. George 

 R. Hall in 1862. In the garden of Mr. C. H. Tenney at Methuen, Massachusetts, 

 there is growing a fine specimen of this curious Pine which is 5 m. tall and 2.3 m. 

 through the crown. 



Pinus densiflora was discovered by Thunberg and introduced in 1854 by von 

 Siebold into the Botanic Garden at Ley den; John Gould Veitch sent seeds of it 

 to England in 1861. It was brought to this country by Dr. George R. Hall in 

 1862, who gave seeds to Parsons & Co., Flushing, Long Island. In gardens, 

 both in this country and in Europe, it has been very generally known under the 

 erroneous name of P. Massoniana. 



The Japanese Red Pine is perfectly hardy in eastern North America as far 

 north at least as Boston. It grows rapidly and on the Hall estate there are 

 handsome trees from 16 to 19 m. tall and from 1.5 to 2 m. in girth of trunk. As 

 a tree for parks and gardens here it promises to be valuable and ornamental. 

 Another name for this tree in Japan is Me-matsu (Female Pine) . 



