734 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



chains running due east and west; and these are seldom met with. In such 

 situations the soil is never exposed to the direct rays of the noonday sun, and 

 preserves in consequence a great deal of moisture. The tree never grows even 

 on north-west or north-east slopes, and is strictly limited to aspects looking due 

 north. 



The most important forest is in the Sierra de la Nieve, a few miles to the east 

 of Ronda. Here the tree extends for several miles in scattered groves on the north 

 slope of the range, growing on dolomitic limestone soil, usually in gullies or under 

 the shade of the cliffs. It occurs mainly at elevations of 4000 to 5900 feet, though 

 it occasionally descends to 3600 feet. In shaded situations and where the soil is 

 deep, there are dense groves of thriving trees, without any admixture of other 

 species ; but at the lower elevations, where there is more sun, the trees are scattered 

 and mixed with oak and juniper. In exposed situations, at high elevations, the trees 

 are windswept, stunted, and more or less broken. Seedlings are numerous in many 

 places. The largest trees, seen by me, were a group, on the road across the 

 mountain from Ronda to Tolox, at a spot called Puerta de las animas. One of 

 these (Plate 212) was 106 feet in height and 13 feet 8 inches in girth; and another 

 with a double stem, not so tall, girthed 16 feet 3 inches. This group is overhung by 

 a precipice, and is at 4700 feet altitude. The stump of a tree, which had been cut 

 down, showed 240 annual rings and was 32 inches in diameter. 



The second forest, and by far the most picturesque, lies to the west of Ronda, 

 on the northern slope of the precipitous peak, Cerro S. Cristoval or Sierra del 

 Pinar, close to the mediaeval town of Grazalema. The fir grows here on a 

 talus, composed of sharp angular white limestone stones ; and the contrast between 

 the dense mass of green foliage of the tree and the pure white ground from which it 

 springs, is remarkably beautiful. The stones and pebbles are loosely aggregated ; 

 and beneath the surface they are mixed with a mass of black mould, in which the 

 roots of the tree freely spread. The fir extends along the precipitous side of 

 the mountain for about two miles, forming a band of continuous forest, which reaches 

 nearly to the summit of the peak, attaining about 5800 feet altitude, and descending 

 generally to 4000 feet, reaching in one gully to 3600 feet. Seedlings are numerous. 

 There is no undergrowth, except an occasional daphne ; but climbers like ivy and 

 clematis are common. None of the trees are so tall as those in the Sierra de la 

 Nieve; but many have gigantic short trunks, in one case girthing 25 feet, and are 

 extremely old. In this forest, trees with glaucous foliage, not seen elsewhere, are not 

 at all uncommon. 



The third wood of ^. Pinsapo occurs on the Sierra de Bermeja, which overhangs 

 the town of Estepona and the Mediterranean coast. This wood, which covers only 

 a small area, is most accessible from Gaucin, a station on the railway between 

 Gibraltar and Ronda. Here the soil is disintegrated serpentine rock, and the 

 tree grows on the northern slope, between 4100 and 4900 feet, though stunted 

 specimens occur up to 5400 feet. The fir is pure on the precipitous upper part 

 of the mountain ; but lower down is mixed with Pinus Pinaster. The largest tree, 

 which I measured, was 90 feet high by 1 3 feet 5 inches in girth. 



