FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS OF ARIZONA 59 



2. Cones berrylike, the scales fleshy and remaining fused at maturity, the 



cones not long-persistent on the branches: seeds few, not winged. 



6. JlJNIPEBUS. 



1. Leaves in the adult state not closely imbricate, elongate, needlelike or linear; 

 cones dry at maturity; scales of the pistillate flowers in the axils of per- 

 sistent bract- 3 . 



3. Leaves sheathed at base, at least when young, usually in fascicle> of 2 or 



more, mostly needlelike; cone scales very thick and woody, umbonate 

 on the back; bracts minute, much shorter than the scales; fruit maturing 



in the second (rarely third) season 1. Ptnus. 



3. Leaves not. sheathed or fascicled, linear cr subulate; cone scales not very 

 thick and woody, not umbonate; bracts relatively large; fruit maturing 

 in the first season (4). 

 4. Cones erect, the scales falling from the axis at maturity and much longer 



than the bracts; leaves sessile, flat or somewhat 4-sided 4. Abies. 



4. Cones pendulous, the scales persistent on the axis; leaves stalked (5). 

 5. Branchlets roughened by the persistent, hard, peglike leaf bases; 

 leaves mostly 4-sided, deciduous in drying; bracts shorter than the 



cone scales, erose-dentate or nearly entire 2. Picea. 



5. Branchlets not roughened by persistent leaf stalks; leaves compressed 

 but strongly ribbed and channeled, persistent in drying; bract- 

 longer than the cone scales, conspicuous, 2-lobed and aristate 

 at apex 3. Pseudotstjga. 



1. PINUS. 6 Pine 



Trees; leaves in fascicles subtended by a sheath, rarely solitary, 

 needle-shaped or narrowly linear; scales of the pistillate flowers in the 

 axils of minute persistent bracts; cones in fruit with thick woody 

 scales, these umbonate on the back; fruit maturing in the second 

 or third season; seeds winged or wingless. 



This genus comprises some of the most valuable timber trees of the 

 world. The western yellow pine (P. ponderosa), in Arizona as in most 

 of its range, is by far the most important species economically. It is 

 the only species forming extensive nearly pure stands in readily ac- 

 cessible localities. Lumbering is rated as a 85,000,000 industry in 

 Arizona, and yellow pine constitutes about 95 percent of the total of 

 sawed lumber. Annual production in the State during the past 

 10 years has varied from about do to 165 million board feet. Sold 

 locally as "native pine," the wood is heavy, hard, and brittle but not 

 coarse-grained, yellow* to reddish brown in color. The sapwood, 

 known as "western white pine," is easily worked and is much used 

 for finishing. The wood of this and several other pines that occur in 

 Arizona is used locally for rough construction, poles, fence posts, 

 railway ties, and fuel. 



Seeds of all pines are important food of squirrels and other rodents 

 and of birds. The well-flavored seeds of the pinyons or nut pines 

 (Pinus cembroides, P. eduliSj P.monophylla) are used by the Indians 

 for food, and in recent years those of P. edulis, by far the most abun- 

 dant and widely distributed of the three species, have become an 

 article of commerce. This is an important source of revenue to the 

 Indians of northern Arizona and New Mexico. The seeds are picked 

 up on the ground, taken from the nests of rodents, or extracted by 

 roasting the nearly ripe cones. The resin of P. edulis is used by the 

 Indians to waterproof bottles for holding water and to cement the 

 turquoise stones in their jewelry. 



6 Reference: S UT> WORTH, GEORGE B. THE PINE TREES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. [7. S. Depl 



Agr. Bui. 460. 47 pp., illus. 1917. 



