772 



THE PINE FAMILY. 



sessile, ovoid, conical, recurved when 

 young ; the scales hard and woody, 

 much thickened upwards, with a short, 

 thick point, often turned backward in 

 the lower scales of one side of the cone, 

 but generally disappearing as the cone 

 ripens. Seeds with an obliquely lan- 

 ceolate, obtuse wing, 2 or 3 times as long 

 as the seed itself. 



Widely distributed over northern and 

 central Europe and Russian Asia, chiefly 

 in granitic or sandy soils, and in the 

 mountains of southern Europe and the 

 Caucasus. Truly indigenous in the 

 Scotch Highlands, and in former times 

 in Ireland ; extensively planted all over 

 Britain, and quite naturalized in some 

 parts of southern England. Fl. spring. 

 The cultivated species of this genus are 

 very numerous, belonging to the four principal sections, considered 

 by some as genera, viz. : — 1. The true Pines, with subulate evergreen 

 leaves, in clusters of 2 to 5, and hard cones with the scales usually 

 thickened at the top, including, besides the Scotch P., the Pinaster or 

 maritime P., the Weymouth P., the JRoman P., etc. 2. The Spruce 

 Firs, with shorter, somewhat flattened leaves, arranged singly and 

 often in two opposite ranks, and with thin scales to the cones, includ- 

 ing the common or Norway Spruce, now almost naturalized in Britain, 

 the silver Spruce, the Hemlock Spruce, the halm of Gilead Fir, the 

 Douglas Fine, etc. 3. TheLarch, with short, fine, deciduous leaves, in 

 dense clusters, and small cones with thin scales ; and 4. The Cedar of 

 Lebanon, and Deodara, with short, evergreen, subulate leaves, clus- 

 tered as in the Larches, and large, hard, closely packed cones. 



Fig. 928. 



II. JUNIPER. JUMPERUS. 



Shrubs or small trees, with evergeen leaves, either small and scale- 

 like, or spreading, stiff, and pointed, or both kinds on the same shrub. 

 Flowers usually dioecious, in minute axillary catkins ; the males con- 

 sisting of broad, shield-shaped scales, with 3 to 6 anther-cells attached 

 to their lower edge ; the females with imbricated, empty scales at the 

 base, and 3 to 6 fleshy ones at the top, coalescing into one, and en- 

 closing as many ovules, with their foramen or open pore turned up- 

 wards. Fruit a small berry, formed by the succulent scales, enclosing 

 1 or 2 hard seeds. 



