BLUE PINE IN THE HIMALAYAS 



173 



Figure 6. Upper Sutlej Valley showing outer moist zone monsoon 

 zone separated from inner dry and arid zone by high Himalayan 

 ranges. Point-heights in meters. 



composed of clay soils and decomposing rocks and also on large boulders 

 and coarse soil. In central Nepal the species grows on the northern 

 flanks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges and on alluvial plains of the 

 upper wide valleys. 



Tree Growth and Description 



The trees are short, 10 to 60 feet in height, and show very slow 

 growth. Trees of small girths may be quite old. Branches and foliage are 

 dense, often touching the ground. Needles are short, stiff, and dark 

 bluish-green in color. The trees are drought-resistant and cold-hardy. 

 Sliding snows, however, damage and bend the sapling stems with their 

 weight and thus trees with curved trunks are often seen on high slopes. 

 Avalanche winds, heavy snowfalls, and extreme aridity injure the trees 

 and they may sometimes become ragged and gnarled. In general, however, 

 the short dry or arid high-level blue pine tree does remarkably well in 

 the extremely cold and arid high altitudes. 



Flowering, Pollination and Seed-Set 



Flowering and pollination take place in the first half of June after 

 the snows have melted, about 7 to 10 days later than on the dry low-level 

 blue pine. Cones are comparatively short, seed production is not abundant, 

 and seed fertility, though fairly good, is not high. In Kinnaur, I observed 



