138 FAMILIAR TREES 
woolly and free from resinous exudations, whilst the 
scales become reflexed. The two species differ, how- 
ever, in that P. Pinas‘ter has, as its name of Cluster 
Pine indicates, its cones generally in whorls of from 
three to eight; each cone being not more than two 
and a half inches wide, and of a brightly polished 
light brown; the scales about an inch long and 
three-quarters of an inch broad, and terminating 
in a hard, sharp point; and the needles from six to 
twelve inches long ; whilst P. Pinea has solitary cones, 
sometimes four inches wide, of a lighter colour, the 
scales about two inches long, an inch or more in 
breadth, and terminating in a broad blunt prickle, 
and the needles five to eight inches long. 
Whilst the abbreviated, parasol-like habit is un- 
doubtedly the most striking peculiarity of the species, 
it has many other botanical characters which, if 
not individually distinctive, are when taken together 
what we mean by the species P. Pinea. The bark 
of the trunk is reddish-grey, fissured longitudinally, 
sometimes to a considerable depth, so as to expose a 
light reddish-brown inner cortex. In this country 
the stem commonly divides at no great distance from 
the ground into several large limbs spreading with an 
upward curve and themselves soon forking in the 
same manner, as is well seen in the small but typical 
tree at Kew. The twigs are pale brown and rather 
slender, and long retain the bristle-like bases of the 
fallen leaf-spurs; and the buds are cylindrical and 
slightly pointed, but less so than those of the 
Cluster Pine, which they resemble in many points. 
They are also more woolly and entirely without 
