Pinus Leucodermis 425 



It seems to resemble P. Cetnbra in its way of growth, and is confined to 

 mountains of Triassic and limestone formation, where it forms a zone of scattered 

 forest just below the limit of trees, usually not more than looo feet in depth, and 

 finds its lowest level at looo metres on the Preslica planina, according to Reiser, 

 near the railway station of Bradina ; ascending on the Prenj and Orjen mountains to 

 1700 or 1800 metres. At the lowest elevation it is mixed with beech; at the 

 highest with P. montana, Juniperus nana, andy. sabina. 



In some places at the upper levels, where the snow lies very deep, it becomes 

 very stunted, not rising more than 2 to 4 metres from the ground, but does not 

 assume the procumbent habit of P. montana. It roots itself so firmly on the dry 

 bare rocks of these mountains that no wind can hurt it, and it endures the burning 

 sun and bitter winds of this region without injury. I am indebted to Herr Reiser 

 of Serajevo for the photographs showing the habit of this tree (Plate 119). 



In the upper Idbar valley there is a forest where P. leucodermis grows mixed 

 with spruce, silver fir, Austrian pine, and yew, as well as with beech, ash, sycamore, 

 Pyriis torminalis, and Acer obtusatum. Its smooth grey bark,^ divided into irregular 

 segments, makes it very easy to distinguish from the Austrian pine, but Beck 

 does not think the name of whitebark pine so applicable as that of Panzerfohre or 

 armoured pine. The tree attains under favourable circumstances a height of 90 

 feet, with a diameter of 6 feet at the age of 294 years. 



Of its timber Beck says nothing, but a story which was current in Bosnia when 

 I was there in 1899, and which doubtless has some foundation, leads one to suppose 

 that it is very hard. A Bosnian Turk was said to have bought a lot of trees of 

 this species, which he felled and floated down the Narenta, and sold the timber as 

 that of larch. 



With regard to the occurrence of this species elsewhere, Christ described as 

 a new species, Pinus Heldreichii," specimens which were collected on Mount Olympus 

 in Thessaly. Afterwards, in a letter to Dr. Masters, he stated that this is only a 

 remarkable alpine variety of Piitus Laricio, very reduced, and approaching in some 

 respects Pinus montana. Halacsy' considers that this tree, which grows on Mount 

 Olympus in company with the ordinary form of Laricio and with Abies Apollonis, is 

 identical with Pinus leucodermis. 



A tree referred to this species has been recently found in southern Italy by 

 Dr. Biagio Longo. He mentions ' two localities, the alpine zone of the Calabrian 

 Apennines from Orsomarso to Mount Montea, and the mountain of La Spina in the 

 province of Basilicata, where it grows in the zone of the beech, and rivals that tree 

 in thickness of trunk ; but the foresters in the Sila mountains do not recognise this 

 as a distinct species, or did not know of its discovery when I was there in 1903. 



Seeds were sent by Beck to Kew in October 1890 ; and five plants were raised, 

 which have grown with remarkable slowness, being only 9 to i 2 inches high in 1901. 



1 



The bark is figured in Hempel ii. Wilhelm, Baumc u. Strducher, i. l6l, fig. 84 (18S9). 



2 Christ, in Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel, iii. 549 (1863), but later, in Flora, 1. 83 (1867), he states that Pmus Heldnuht, 

 is identical with P. leucodermis, which he considers to be only an alpine variety of P. Lariao. 



3 Consp. Fl. Graca, iii. 453 (1904). ' Annali di Botamca, lii. 13, i7 (1905), iv. 55 (1906). 



2 (i 

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