432 CONIFERS (PINE FAMIT.V.) 



Var. albicaulis, Eng. A tree 40 or 50 feet high, becoming low and 

 shrubby at the highest elevations, with very pale bark : cones oval or subgio- 

 bose, l£ to 3 inches long, l£ to 2£ inches thick, purple brown; scales much 

 thicker and somewhat pointed. — Bot. Calif, ii 124. P. albicaulis, Eng. On 

 alpine peaks in Montana, extending from the mountainous regions of Cali- 

 fornia to British Columbia. 



§ 2. The woody scales thickened at the end, and usually spiny-tipped (sometimes 

 blunt-pointed). — Pinaster. 



* Resin-ducts close to the epidermis : leaves with entire margins and loose decidu- 



ous sheaths. 



2. P. edulis, Eng. A low round-topped tree, branched from the base or 

 near it, 10 to 15 feet high: leaves mostly in pairs (rarely in threes), I to 1£ 

 inches long, rigid, curved or straightish, spreading: cones sessile, subglobose, 



2 inches long ; tips of scales thick, truncate, raised-pyramidal but without awns 

 or prickles: seeds brown, wingless, edible. — From S. Colorado and southward. 

 The " Pinon " or " Nut Pine " of the Indians. Westward it is replaced by 

 P. monophylla, Torr. & Frem. 



3. P. Balfouriana, Jeffrey. A medium-sized tree, seldom over 50 feet 

 high and sometimes 5 feet in diameter, of regular pyramidal growth : bark red- 

 brown, deeply fissured: leaves in Jives, 1 to lj inches long, rigid, curved, 

 crowded and oppressed to the stem : cones pendulous from the slender branchlets, 

 subcyhndrical, 3£ to 5 inches long, dark purple ; tips of scales thick, with short 

 deciduous prickles : seeds pale, mottled, and winged. — West of our range. 



Var. aristata, Eng. Tree 50 to 100 feet high : cones ovate, with thinner 

 scales, and with shorter recurved or slender awn-like prickles: seeds smaller and 

 wings shorter. — Bot. Calif, ii. 125. P- aristata, Eng. From Colorado through 

 Nevada and Arizona to California. 



* * Resin-ducts within the cellular tissue: leaves serrulate and with persistent 



sheaths : cones subterminal. 



4. P. ponderosa, Dougl. Cne of the largest pines (200 to 300 feet high 

 and 12 to 15 feet thick), wdh very thick red-brown bark, deeply furrowed and 

 split in large plates: leaves in threes, 5 to 11 inches long: cones oval, 3 to 5 

 inches long, 1£ to 2 inches thick, of a rich brown color, sessile or nearly so, often 



3 to 5 together; tip of scales with a stout straight or incurved prickle : seeds dark- 

 brown, 4 lines long; wings 10 to 12 lines long, widest above the middle. — The 

 most magnificent and widely spread Western pine. Known as the " Yellow 

 Pine." The following form is found throughout the Rocky Mountains. 



Var. SCOpulorum, Eng. A smaller tree (80 to 100 feet high) : leaves 3 

 to 6 inches long, often in pairs : cones smaller, 2 or 3 inches long, grayish brown, 

 with stout prickles: seeds 2^ to 3| lines long. — Bot. Calif, ii. 126. Most of the 

 P. ponderosa of the Rocky Mountains is of this variety. 



5. P. contorta, Dougl. A low tree, 5 to 15 or rareiy 25 feet high and 

 6 inches in diameter, with a rounded or depressed top and thin smoothish bark: 

 leaves in pairs, 1 to l£ inches long: cones clustered, oval or subcyhndric, very 

 oblique ; tip of scales with strong knobs and aelicate prickles : seeds black, grooved, 

 2 lines long ; wings 6 lines long, undest above the base and tapering upward. — A 

 Pacific Coast species from California to Alaska. 



