PINUS EXCBLSA. 177 



generally nrach less. It requires but little room; it is quite hardy, 

 always well-furnished Avith foliage, which has a pleasant fragrance during 

 the growing season. 



Pinus excelsa. — A handsome tree, with regularly whorled spreading 

 branches, the upper ones ascending, those below more or less decum- 

 bent, with the extremities upturned, from which the elegant foliage 

 depends. The bark on the younger growth is pale greyish-brown 

 and quite smooth, but becomes rugged on the older wood. The leaves 

 are from 6 to 8 inches long, slender, flaccid, drooping, three-angled, 

 with rough edges, and glaucous bluish -green. The cones are from 

 6 to 8 inches long, pendent when mature, slightly curved, and pointed 

 at the apex; the scales large, wedge-shaped, loosely imbricated, the 

 exposed part striated longitudinally and terminating in a small pro- 

 tuberance. 



Habiiat. — The Himalayas, from Bhotan to Afghanistan, at elevations 

 ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 feet; also -the mountains of Roumelia 

 and Macedonia in south-eastern Europe, from 2,400 to 5,800 feet 

 elevation. 



Introduced into England by Dr. Wallich about 1827. 



As an ornamental Pine, Pinus excelsa takes a high rank among 

 landscape and park trees; it thrives best in light and well-drained soils 

 on sloping ground; on heavy clay and chalk land its growth is much 

 slower and its general aspect much less striking. The best specimens of 

 P. excelsa in this country, cover a space having a radius of upwards 

 of 25 feet. 



The Finns excelsa found in south-eastern Europe and described as a 

 distinct species by the late Professor Grisebach under the name of P. 

 Pence, is a smaller tree than the Himalayan form. In England the 

 young plants are denser in habit, more conical in outline, and have 

 shorter and stiffer leaves. 



The specific name excelsa, "lofty," refers, according to Major Madden, 

 not to the stature of the tree, but to the elevation at which it is found. 



Pinus flexilis " is an Alpine species growing high up the Kocky 

 Mountains and Sierra Nevada, looking like a dark and gloomy 

 Scotch Fir, but not so blue in its black, although, perhaps, even 

 deeper in its colouring, and characterised by fine gnarled and 

 twisted limbs."* It varies much in height, from a low scrubby 

 bush to a tree 50 to 60 feet high, and from 2& to 4 feet in diameter. 

 * Mr. A. Murray, in Gardeners' Chronicle, 1875, 17., p. 356. 

 H 



