ILLINOIS TREES: SELECTION, PLANTING. AND CARE 



99 





Fig. 89.— These tall 

 Scotch pines are irregu- 

 lar in shape and devoid 

 of branches a long dis- 

 tance upward. The tree 

 to the right has a twist- 

 ed trunk, common with 

 age. The short needles 

 are two in a bundle 

 (right inset). Numerous 

 needles on a shoot tip 

 are shown in the left 

 inset. 



reddish brown and 3-6 inches long when mature. The tips of the 

 thin cone scales are thickened and armed with slender prickles. 

 Western yellow pine is used for screening and as background 

 plantings in landscaping. It is an important timber tree in the 

 West. 



Limber pine (Fig. 90) is a narrow, pyramidal tree when 

 young. It becomes broad and round topped with age and reaches 

 a height of 45-75 feet. It thrives on a moist, well-drained, sandy 

 loam soil, but it will tolerate poor soil. The branches are hori- 

 zontal, pendulous, and extremely flexible. The dark green needles 

 (Fig. 90 insets) occasionally have a bluish cast. They are 1-3 

 inches long, in bundles of five, and are shed in their fifth and 

 sixth years. Each bundle of needles is twisted in a difl"erent direc- 

 tion. The branches are hairy at first but soon become smooth. 

 Because of its tough, flexible characteristics, the tree is called 

 limber pine. The small, reddish, pollen-bearing cones are clustered 

 at the base of young shoots. The seed-bearing cones are green 

 or rarely purple at maturity, somewhat cylindrical, 3-10 inches 

 long, and about 1 inch broad. The dark brown seeds, 1/2 inch or 



