Coulter's Pine 39 



rounded at the base, pointed at the apex, 1.5 to 2.5 dm. long, i to 1.5 dm. thick, 

 of a light reddish brown color, losing their seed gradually and persisting on the 

 branches for several years; their scales are woody, sUghtly concave, 2.5 cm. wide, 

 rounded, transversely ridged, and contracted into a prominent, flattish knob, re- 

 flexed below the middle and erect above the middle of the cone and armed with a 

 thick, sharp stout spine which is upright or curved outward. The seed is oblong, 

 18 mm. long, rounded at the base and apex, shghtly flattened toward the apex, 

 dark brown to abnost black with resinous and oily endosperm; the wing encircling 

 the seed is much thickened on its inner margin, its apex broad and oblique, about 

 one half as long as the seed; it soon breaks away from both seed and scale; 

 cotyledons about 15. 



The wood is soft, weak and brittle, close-grained, very resinous, light brown or 

 reddish; its specific gravity is about 0.48. It is not durable and very Kttle used. 



The seeds were an important food for the Indians, who used them as they 

 did those of nut pines. A volatile oil known as abietene is obtained by distilla- 

 tion of the resinous sap. 



28. COULTER'S PINE — Pinus Ooulteri Lambert 



This pine grows over much the same area as the Digger pine, but at higher 

 altitudes, occurring at from 900 to 1800 meters. It forms small groves or occurs 

 singly, on the dry gravelly soils of the coast range, from Mt. Diablo, California, 

 southward, reaching a maximum height of 21 meters, with a trunk diameter of 1.2 

 m. It is also known as Pitch pine. Big cone pine. Large cone pine, and Nut pine. 



The branches are stout and irregular, usually drooping below, short and 

 ascending toward the top, forming an open, irregular, often very picturesque head. 

 The bark is up to 5 cm. thick, deeply fissured into broad, rounded confluent ridges, 

 covered by close thin scales of a dark brown to nearly black color; that of the 

 large branches smoother. The twigs are very stout, often 2.5 cm. thick, dark yellow 

 brown at first, gradually becoming darker and finally nearly black, and roughened 

 by the persigtent bases of the bud-scales. Branch-buds ovoid, sharp, often ab- 

 ruptly pointed, sometimes 4 cm. long, scales dark-tipped, dry and fringed on the 

 margin. Leaves in sheathed clusters of 3, dark bluish green, 1.5 to 3.5 dm. 

 long, often 3 mm. thick, stout and stiff, small-toothed above the middle, usually 

 entire below, long callous-tipped, marked by many rows of stomata on the faces 

 and containing 4 to 10 various sized resin-ducts and 2 fibrovascular bundles. 

 They persist for three or four years. The staminate flowers are in crowded 

 clusters, cylindric, 4.5 cm. long, 8 mm. thick, somewhat curved, their anthers 

 yellow. Pistillate flowers stalked, ascending, oblong-oval, about 18 mm. long; 

 their scales ovate, dark red-brown, glaucous and contracted into long incurved 

 tips. The young cones are spreading or pendent, oblong, 5 cm. long and Ught 

 yellow by the first autumn, maturing the following autumn when they have be- 

 come short-stalked, pendent, ovoid, 2.5 to 3.5 dm. long, i to 1.25 dm. thick, light 



