14 



TREES AND FLOWERS OF 



(brown) (brown) 



I 



LIMBER PINE 



LODGEPOLE PINE 



TREES. 



Limber Pine (Pinus flewilis) . The limber pine is 

 the dominant tree below the level of the park plateau ; 

 it is especially abundant at Mammoth Hot Springs. It 

 generally forms rather scattered stands, and in conse- 

 quence is seldom a symmetrical tree. Its freely branch- 

 ing, bushy habit makes it bizarre and picturesque rather 

 than beautiful. It belongs to the white pine group, 

 and the needles are therefore borne in groups of five. 

 The cones open and fall soon after ripening, so that 

 the trees may be identified at a distance by the bunches 

 of immature cones at the extreme ends of the branches. 



Lodgepole Pine (Pmus Murray ana). The lodge- 

 pole pine is by far the most abundant tree species in 

 the Park, making up nearly three-fourths of the whole 

 tree population. It is almost always found at the level 

 of the park plateau, where it forms very dense forests. 

 The trees are usually straight and slender, and where 

 the stand is dense bear their branches only near the 

 top. It is a yellow pine, and the needles grow in clus- 

 ters of two, or sometimes three. The cones are small, 

 and hang on the branches for a long time. Normally 

 they never open until a forest fire sweeps through the 

 woods. This dependence on heat to open the cones 

 works as an advantage to the tree, giving it a start 

 over all other species after a forest fire. 



