II02 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



occasionally ascending to 3000 ft. Prof. Samios of Athens informs us that a tree at 

 Chalcis, which Elwes saw many years ago, is 130 ft. in height, and loj ft. in girth. 

 In Cyprus^ this is a finer tree than P. Laricio, often attaining in the forest 10 ft. 

 in girth, but on dry ground on the hot coast it assumes a bushy form. Mr. A. K. 

 Bovill, Principal Forest Officer in Cyprus, informs us that he has photographed a 

 tree 15 ft. in girth. According to Madon,^ it flourishes on all soils up to 5000 ft., 

 mixing above 4500 ft. with P. Laricio. 



This species also occurs in west and south Asia Minor, covering the sand dunes 

 of the Cilician coast westwards from Mersina ; and on the coast of Syria and the 

 lower ranges of the Lebanon is a handsome tree, judging from a photograph (Plate 

 287) sent us by Dr. Day of Beyrout. 



In Algeria P. halepensis, pure or mixed with Quercus Ilex, forms the greater part 

 of the forests, where the rainfall is less than 1 2 in. annually, and extends from the 

 sea-coast to about 5000 ft. altitude. It grows mainly on limestone, but is occasion- 

 ally seen on clay, sandstone, and conglomerate. It is remarkable for its repro- 

 ductive power, as seedlings are very numerous, and regeneration is certain to 

 ensue after the destruction of the forests by axe or fire. In the dry regions of 

 Algeria, where forest fires are common, it is apparently adapted for natural regenera- 

 tion on burnt areas, as cones with fertile seed are always present on the trees. 

 Young trees bear cones when only 5 or 6 ft. high, while older trees retain many of 

 the cones closed for six or eight years ; and these, when scorched by fire, burst 

 and scatter the seed to a distance of 10 or 20 yards.^ " This is well seen in a forest 

 near Affi-eville, where P. halepensis is the predominant species, mixed with a small 

 proportion of Callitris quadrivalvis and Quercus cocci/era. Here the trees are of 

 no great size, but I measured one in the open 70 ft. high and 14 ft. 11 in. in girth. 



In Morocco it apparently does not occur near the coast, but is reported by Ball * 

 to grow in the mountains to the south at 4000 to 5500 ft. altitude. It is met with 

 in Egypt, near Alexandria, but is probably planted there.^ 



Van Brutia has a more restricted and a more easterly distribution than the type. 

 It is met with in Calabria in Italy, where it was discovered by Tenore in the Aspro- 

 monte mountains between 2400 and 3600 ft. altitude. According to Sprenger,® it 

 grows here on limestone, ascending to 5000 ft., and attaining about 80 ft. in height 

 and 250 years in age. He says that the wood is white and free from resin. Accord- 

 ing to Halacsy,^ it is absent from the mainland of Greece, but occurs at high elevations 

 in Crete, It grows on the shores of the Sea of Marmora, where it is known as kara 

 jchamor black pine.^ It seems to be the mountain form in Asia Minor, occurring in 

 Pamphylia, Cilicia,and on the Taurus and Lebanon, the tree near the coast being typical 

 P. halepensis. Specimens collected in 1874 by Elwes in Lycia, and noted as growing on 



1 Cf. Hartmann, in Mitt. deut. dend. Ges., 1905, p. 169. ■ 



2 Forests of Cyprus, in Cyprus, Parliament. Paper No. 366, of 1881. 



3 Cf. Lefebvre, Les Forts de FAlgirie, 421 seq. (1900). The part which the persistent closed cones play in the 

 regeneration has not been understood by local observers, who assert that the cones on very young trees produce unfertile seed. 

 This requires further investigation. 



« Ixijourn. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xvi. 669 (1878). 6 Boissier, Flora Orientalis, v. 69S (1884). 



6 In Mitt. deut. dend. Ges., 1904, p. 191. 7 Consp. Fl. Graecae, iii. 4S3 (1904). 



Specimens procured for Mr. H. Clinton-Baker by Mr. Stuart Hogg. 



