BOTANY. 95 
age a peculiarly tufted appearance. The color of the leaves is 
a dark yellowish-green. The bark is of'a light yellowish-brown 
or cork color, and is divided into large, smooth plates from 
four to eight inches wide and from twelve to twenty inches 
long, whereby the tree may be recognized at a distance. The 
tree is found near the snow-line in the Sierra Nevada, and 
east of the summit, and northward to Washington Territory. 
The nut-pine (Pinus sabiniana) is remarkable as a conifer 
for its spreading top, and for its large cones full of edible 
seeds. It branches out somewhat after the manner of a ma- 
ple; rarely more than sixty feet high, though often with a 
trunk four feet through—a thickness of trunk that with most 
other conifers would give more than double the height. 
About half way from the ground to the'top, the trunk divides 
into a number of branches, which grow upward. The nut- 
pine is found in the lower part of the Sierra Nevada, and in 
the coast mountains near the head of the Sacramento valley. 
The seeds are larger than the common white bean, and are 
very palatable, with a slight terebinthine taste. The leaves 
are from four to ten inches long, and grow in threes. The 
foliage of the tree when seen from a distance, resembles that 
of the willow, both in color and distribution. In places where 
the nut-pine is found, the woodpeckers select them as store- 
houses for their winter food, cutting holes in their bark and 
putting an acorn in each. The Indians formerly relied upon 
the nuts for a considerable portion of their food. They climbed 
the tree by catching hold of the rough, strong bark with their 
hands, then putting their feet against the tree, without touch- 
ing it with their body or knees, they walked up till they reached 
the limbs. 
The twisted pine (Pinus contorta) is found in the northern 
part of the state. The leaves are yellowish green in color, 
about two inches long; and they grow in pairs. The tree 
does not exceed sixty feet in height. | 
Coulter’s pine (Pinus coulterii) grows in the Santa Lucia 
mountains. It reaches a height of one hundred feet, and has 
