257 PINUS SYLVESTRIS 



ened at the end, and provided at the top with a projecting point; 

 ovules 2, inverse, bottle- shaped, placed obliquely on the base of 

 the scale, the open mouths with longish teeth. Eipe cones 

 shortly stalked, usually solitary, reflexed, ovoid-conical before 

 opening, 1 1^ inches long, brownish ash-coloured, scales not 

 numerous, woody, linear-oblong, imbricated, the ends much 

 thickened, their exposed part (apophysis) oblique, rhomboidal, 

 with a transverse ridge and central tubercle, the lower ones 

 shorter and empty, the upper ultimately widely separating and 

 spreading. Seeds over half an inch long, the membranous wing 

 occupying over f of the length, testa woody, embryo polycoty- 

 ledonous in the axis of somewhat fleshy endosperm. 



Habitat. The Scotch Fir forms vast woods in many parts of 

 Northern Europe and Asia, extending into the arctic regions ; it 

 is also a native of the Central European chains, reaching up to 

 6000 feet in the Alps and Pyrenees, and its range extends into the 

 Caucasus, Armenia, and Cappadocia. In Britain there is no 

 doubt it was at one time common, but it is now only met 

 with in the native state in a few of the Highland forests of 

 Scotland ; it is, however, extensively planted in heathy and 

 sandy districts, and has become semi-naturalised in such 

 localities. 



The cone takes two years to ripen, and undergoes consider- 

 able changes in form and colour during that period. 



Hook, f ., Stud. PL, p. 348 ; Syme, E., Bot., viii, p. 264 ; Watson, 

 Comp. Cyb. Br., p. 319 ; Parlatore, in DC. Prod., xvi, 2, p. 560; 

 Lindl., PI. Med., p. 553. 



Official Parts and Names. Pix LIQUIDA, Tar ; a bituminous 

 fluid obtained from the wood of Pinus sylvestris, Linn, and other 

 pines by destructive distillation (B. P.). A bituminous liquid 

 (Liquid or Wood Tar), obtained by destructive distillation 

 (I. P.), Pix LIQUIDA ; the impure turpentine from the wood of 

 Pinus palustris, and of other species of Pinus, procured by 

 burning (U. S. P.). 



