14 KEY AND FLORA 
c 
Scales of the cone few, without bracts. Leaves evergreen, generally scale- 
like or awl-shaped. 
Cones dry and thin-scaled. Thuja, VII 
Cones berry-like. Juniperus, VIII 
I. PINUS L. 
Sterile flowers somewhat resembling inconspicuous catkins, 
borne at the base of the young shoot of the season, each flower 
consisting of pollen-scales in spiral groups (Fig. 1, 2). Fertile 
flower spikes consisting of spirally arranged carpel scales, each 
scale springing from the axil of a bract and bearing at its own 
base two ovules (Fig. 1, 3). Fruit a cone, formed of the thick- 
ened carpellary scales, ripening the second autumn after the 
flower opens. Primary leaves, thin and chaffy bud scales, from 
the axils of which spring the bundles of 2-5 nearly persistent, 
needle-like, evergreen leaves, 1-15 in. long (Fig. 1). 
1. P. Strobus L. Wurrr Prive. A tall tree, 75-160 ft. high, much 
branched and spreading when growing in open ground, but often 
with few or no living branches below the height of 100 ft. when 
growing in dense forests. Leaves clustered in fives, slender, 3-4 in. 
long, smooth and pale or with a whitish bloom. Cones 5-6 in. long, 
not stout. The wood is soft, durable, does not readily warp, and is 
therefore very valuable for lumber. In light soil, commonest N. 
2. P. Teda L. Losptotty Pine, OLprieLp Ping. A large tree; 
bark very thick and deeply furrowed, becoming flaky with age; twigs 
scaly. Leaves in threes, 6-10 in. long, slender, very flexible; sheaths 
3-1 in. long. Cones solitary, oblong-conical, 3-5 in. long; scales 
thickened at the apex, the transverse ridge very prominent and 
armed with a short, stout, straight or recurved spine. Common, and 
often springing up in old fields; trunk containing a large proportion 
of sapwood; timber of little value for outside work.*1 
3. P. rigida Mill. Norruern Pircu Pine. A stout tree, 30-80 ft. 
high, with rough, scaly bark. Leaves in threes, 3-5 in. long, stiff and 
flattened. Cones ovoid-conical, 2-3 in. long, their scales tipped with 
a short, abruptly curved spine. Wood hard, coarse, and resinous, 
mainly used for fuel. Poor, sandy soil, especially eastward. 
1 Descriptions followed by an asterisk are taken (more or less simplified) 
from Professor Tracy’s flora in the Southern States Edition. 
