LXXVIL CONIFER: PICEA. . 1048 
This is said to be a finer tree than the common silver fir, from its silvery 
leaves and abundant strobiles. The branches are dense, about 2in., scarcely 
ever 3in., thick, and regularly disposed; the lower horizontal, the upper 
springing at a more acute angle. At from 14 to 17 years old the tree begins 
to bear fruit at top. When full-grown, the whole crown is covered, from a 
fourth part of its height, with large, conical, erect strobiles, solitary or in 
twos or threes, and coated over with a resinous exudation. The seeds ripen 
about the end of September, when they immediately fall off with the scales, 
the axis often remaining for the whole year. The wood is harder than that of 
the common silver fir, The male catkins have not been seen. The female 
strobiles are sessile, or on very short peduncles, erect, 5in. long, and 23 in. 
in diameter. Rachis 2 or 3 lines thick, gradually attenuated, ligneous, rough 
with tubercles spirally disposed for the insertion of the scales. There are 
12 or 13 of these spiral lines, each containing 8 tubercles in its circumvolution, 
making a total of about 100 florets, or 200 seeds, in each strobile. Scales 
closely adpressed ; superior (fig. 1950. u, ¢) cup-shaped, narrow at the base 
for about 2 lines in length, then suddenly dilated into a lamina, at first straight 
and of 3 lines broad, afterwards greatly expanded, somewhat recurved, and 
nearly 1 in. in breadth, which is also the length of the scale itself; inferior 
(jig. 1950. 8, d) much shorter, lamina with a subreniform base, triangularly 
crenate. Lateral margins of the lamina eroded, dentate, upper entire ; inner 
surface slightly keeled, outer smooth. 
Bract adnate to the narrow base of 
the scale, then free, about a line 
broad at the middle, spreading by 
degrees into a lamina, rarely ovate, 
often cordate, reflexed at the apex, 
and incumbent onthe lowe scale; 
mucro 15 line long ; lamina equal to 
the scale in length. Nuts two, trian- 
gular ovate, 14 line long, above a little 
broader, smooth. Wing obliquely ex- 
panded by degrees to 3 in. in length 
and breadth, membranous ; inner 
margin straight, and close to the 
other wing (fig. 1951. c.). This 
species is sufficiently distinguished 
from Picea balsamea and P. sibirica 
by the size of the strobile, and long 
reflexed point of the bractea ; and it 
differs still more from Picea pecti- 
nata, in the shape of the bract, and 
its upward curved lines. 
2 5. P.(e.) Pr'cura. The Pitch 
Silver Fir. 
Synonymes. Pinus Pichta Lodd. Cat. ed. 
1836; P.sibfrica Hort. ; A‘bies sibirica Lede- 
bour Icon. Pl. Fl. Ross. t. 499., Lindl. in 
Penny Cyc., No.2.; A. Pichta Fischer ; 
Pichta, Russ. 
Engravings. Led. Icon. Pl. Fl. Ross., t. 499. 5 
and our fig. 1951. 
Spec. Char.. &c. Leaves solitary, 
tetragonal, dark green. Cones ¥ 
cylindrical, erect. Scales cuneate- + 
obovate, rounded at the apex, 
quite entire, convex externally. 
A tree of the middle size. Altai 
Mountains, at an elevation of 
4000 ft., where it forms whole 1951. P. (p.) Plohtas 
3x 2 
