32 Muhlenbergia, Volume 5 



great care for some three hundred miles along his course on both 

 sides of the Sierra. He noticed its resistance to cold, and re- 

 corded the fact that in its highest locality the trees were covered 

 four feet with snow, and the mercury stood at -2 degrees. Fre- 

 mont called it 'one-leafed pine;' Endlicher changed it in honor 

 of the discoverer to P. Frcmonticuia, and the tree has ever since 

 bore both of these names interchangeably; but the better name 

 is P. monopliylla, since it is the only single-leaf pine known. 



"The trees in open situations, as upon the low hills near 

 Carson, Nevada, become round headed, freely branching from 

 the base; but in the gulches of the Sierra they are spire-shaped, 

 or even tall and slim. Trees in the Tehachapi Mountains were 

 noted in June last four feet in diameter and nearly one hundred 

 feet high. 



"But the trees of the Sierra are generally decrepit and much 

 broken by winter storms. In sheltered situations beautiful trees 

 are seen of pyramidal outline, often heavily fruited, so heavy 

 that their limbs are bowed to the ground. The cones are usu- 

 ally quickly deciduous. A fine forest of single-leaf pine is found 

 on the San Bernardino Mountains near Bear Valley, of the same 

 character and condition of bearing as in Tehachapi. Male flow- 

 ers, June fifteenth, were just disseminating their pollen. Form- 

 erly the nuts of this pine were collected in great quantities an- 

 nually by the Washoe tribe of Indians, for food. 



"At the harvest time, nearly the whole tribe, men, women, 

 and children, with their ponies, would proceed to the groves of 

 trees and camp by them. With long poles the cones were beaten 

 off by the men, the boys climbing such trees as admitted of it, 

 to secure the fruit, which was taken by the squaws, piled in 

 heaps with leaves and earth thrown over them, and then set on 

 fire. 



"When roasted several hours the cones will be found open- 

 ing and discharging the large and truly delicious kernels. 



"There has been much discussion ever since the discovery 

 of this tree upon the character of its leaf, and eminent authori- 

 ties have held opposing views; some declaring that the leaves 

 were truly single and solitary, others that the terete foliage was 

 due to the firm agglutination of a pair of leaves. 



