Part 2

LONG LEAF PINE (Pinus palustris)

Shape spindling, a little broader at the crown, 50-100 ft. tall. Bark smooth, thin, with red-brown plates. Branches short, horizontal, scaly. Needles in threes, 10-15 in. long, gleaming and beautiful. Cones 6-10 in. long. Range: Norfolk Va. along the coast to centr. Fla.; far inland in the Gulf States, up to e. Tenn. The wood, strong and durable when not tapped for turpentine, is used for interior finish, bridges, trestles, masts, spars and especially for railway carriages. This valuable tree, with the longest needles and largest cones in the eastern states, is the great tar, pitch, and turpentine tree that has supplied the world with most of its naval stores. With the vanishing of virgin timber, the flow of turpentine has become greatly diminished. SLASH PINE (Pinus caribaea) is a similar, very slender spindly tree with small high crown, which forms monotonous open grooves from S. C. to Fla. and Cuba.

JACK PINE (Pinus Banksiana)

Shape if well developed broad topped, but usually stunted and scraggling; 15-100 ft. tall. Trunk slim, often contorted. Bark ruddy brown, gray and shaggy with age, forming irregular ridges. Branches wide spreading, their twigs often drooping and ruddy. Needles scrubby, rigid, twisted. Cones 1-2 in. long, remaining closed and grayish for years, finally brown, 1-2 in. long. Range: N.S. to L. Mistassinie and the Mackenzie R., skirting well south of James’ Bay; Gt. Lakes region to centr. Minn. Though of little value save for fuel, this tree grows in acid, rocky country where no other tree would. Everywhere associated with poor soil, poverty, and bleak conditions, it is called “Unlucky Tree” and superstitiously feared by French Canadians. The old lumberjacks of the North Woods designated this contemptuously as “scrub pine.”

BIG CONE PINE (Pinus Coulteri)

Shape broad spreading at the top; 40-90 ft. tall. Bark dark, with braided fissures. Branches clothing stem near to base, lower extended. Needles pale, 3 in a cluster, 5-14 in. long, very scant. Cones 10-13 in. long, 5-7½ in. thick. Range: Coast Ranges of centr. and s. Calif. Scarcely prepossessing in stature or foliage, this tree has the largest cones among all pines. DIGGER PINE (Pinus Sabiniana) is similar, ranging in a circle of the lower mts. surrounding the interior valleys of Calif. Shape an open, broom-like crown, trunks usually leaning and soon forking umbrella-wise. Needles grayish, scanty, clustered at twig ends, 7-13½ in. long. Cones 6-10 in. long, 5-7 in. thick; scales with big down-bent hook prickles. Seeds large, black-coated, sweet, eaten by the Indians (“Diggers”) of Calif.

LODGEPOLE PINE (Pinus Murrayana)

Shape narrowly pyramidal, 70-80 ft. tall. Bark close, firm, light orange-brown. Branches ascending near the top, the lower down sweeping. Needles stout, 2-3 in. long. Cones clustered, ¾-2 in. long. Also called Tamarack Pine, this lofty slender tree makes dense monotonous forests from the Yukon along the Rockies to s. Colo. and Utah, and along the Sierras to s. Calif. It is used for mine timbers, railway ties, and its very tall, slender, straight stems furnished the western Indians with tepee poles. BEACH PINE (Pinus contorta) differs in being a stunted tree of bogs, shores, and windswept dunes from Alaska to Calif.; stems twisted: hark thick and dark; head broad and picturesque; needles darker green, 1-1½ in. long. The two species intergrade, but the second, in contrast, is quite useless.

EASTERN LARCH. TAMARACK (Larix laricina)

Shape narrow or in old trees broadly pyramidal; 30-90 ft. tall. Trunk slender. Bark smooth, ruddy brown, or on old trees rough with rounded scales. Branches, horizontal or sweeping down, with young ones, borne in thick clusters at the tip of the knob-like projections from the twigs, falling in winter, renewed each spring, soft, ¾-1 in. long. Cones remaining on the tree all winter, brown turning black. Range: Bogs throughout the Can. forest belt to the arctic tree line; not on the Rockies; s. to Gt. Lakes basin, n. Mississippi basin, N.E., N.Y., n. Pa. The wood, heavy, strong, rather coarse, is durable in contact with the soil. It is employed for ship timbers, ties, and fence posts. The gum was used as a wound balm by the Pilgrims. When leafing out in spring the Larch is very lovely.

WEST. LARCH. TAMARACK (Larix occidentalis)

Shape narrowly pyramidal; 80-200 ft. tall. Bark very dark, on old trunks becoming bright crimson and divided into huge plates. Branches short, horizontal. Needles in clusters, except on the young growth, from woody knobs, rigid, short, pointed, pale, renewed each spring, falling in winter. Cones many scaled, 1-1½ in. long, with long slender bracts protruding from between the scales. Range: Mts. of B.C. to w. Mont., and s. to the Blue Mts. of Ore. No other American conifer produces such hard, heavy wood; this is terra cotta in hue, valued for house construction and furniture. Aided by the thickness of its bark this tree withstands forest fires better than any other in the West and remains the king of all larches in height and value. The sweet sap, issuing from the tree, is eaten by Indians.

RED SPRUCE (Picea rubra)

Shape loosely pyramidal; 40-75 ft. tall. Trunk slender. Bark reddish brown, flaky with thin scales. Branches ascending near the top of the tree, the lower down sweeping. Needles fragrant, 4-angled, scarcely more than ½ in. long. Cones 1½-2 in. long, clustered near the summit. Range: Marit. Provs. of Can., N.E., N.Y., s. on the mts. to Pa., and highest peaks of Va. and N. C. Employed for construction, pulp, and flooring, this is also considered the best American wood for resounding boards of musical instruments. WHITE SPRUCE (Picea canadensis) ranges from Labr. to Alaska, s. to N.E., centr. parts of Mich. and Wis., the Black Hills. w. slopes of the Rockies in Can. and Mont. Not a large or valuable tree except for paper pulp, it is the most ornamental eastern spruce. It differs in its smooth twigs and longer cones: the needles are unpleasantly scented.

BLACK SPRUCE (Picea mariana)

Shape very narrow, spire-like; 20-90 ft. tall or sometimes a knee-high dwarf even when very old, on the muskeags of the Northwest. Bark grayish brown, flaky, thin-scaly. Branches very short, horizontal or a little down sweeping, lightly up curving at the tips. Needles bluish green with a whitish bloom, ½-¾ in. long, 4-angled. Cones ½-1½ in. long; scales stiff and thin. Range: Throughout the forest belt of Can., except the Rockies, s. to Pa. and thence on the high mts. to N.C., centr. parts of Mich., Wis., Minn. Individually beautiful, this becomes a monotonous and somber tree through the northern interior of the continent. The wood is not useful except for paper pulp, but in that form it is employed by almost every newspaper in the eastern states. Formerly its sap was the basis of chewing gum, before chicle was employed.

SITKA SPRUCE (Picea sitchensis)

Shape a loose open pyramid, spire-like at the summit; up to 200 ft. tall. Trunk massive, often buttressed at the base. Bark broken into large, thin, loose, reddish scales. Branches close, slender, horizontal with rigid leading shoots. Needles flat, ½-1 in. long, silvery white above, often twisted. Cones 2½-4 in. long with stiff scales. Range: Alaska to Mendocino Co. Calif., always near the coast. This, the most important lumber tree of Alaska, is used for interior finish, boat-building, barrels, and packing cases. With its silvery foliage and spire-like growth, it is unsurpassed in beauty by any evergreen. WEEPING SPRUCE (Picea Breweriana) is similar, the needles also flat but not silvery, and the branchlets sharply bent down from the trunk, the lower sweeping to the ground. Mts. of sw. Ore. and adj. Calif.

WHITE FIR (Abies concolor)

Shape a symmetrical pagoda-like tapering cone, up to 220 ft. tall. Trunk massive. Bark thin, smooth, whitish-gray, in age deeply furrowed; ridges rounded, with ashy scales. Branches widely spaced, whorled, on old trees the lower sweeping to the ground. Needles flat, pale blue with a bloom. Cones 3-6 in. long, their thin scales overlapping, deciduous. Range: On the Sierra Nevada of Calif. and s. Ore. Also mts. of w. Colo., Utah, Ariz. and N. Mex. ALPINE FIR (Abies lasiocarpa) is almost identical, but the leaves green. Albt. to N. Mex. and Ore. RED FIR (Abies magnifica) reaches 200 ft. height, with majestic lower branches and cones 5-8 in. long. Needles bluish, quadrangular. Cascades of Ore. to Mt. Shasta, and w. slope of the Sierra Nevada, where it forms vast, splendid forests. The wood is moderately valuable for light construction.

CANADA BALSAM (Abies balsamea)

Shape pyramidal, up to 70 ft. tall. Trunk slender. Bark grayish brown becoming scaly, with raised blisters containing resin. Branches in whorls, horizontal. Needles appearing all in 1 plane on young or sterile twigs, bristling all around the twig on old and cone-bearing branches, pale below with grayish lines. Cones with sticky, shedding scales. Range: Labr. to James’ Bay and nw. to Mackenzie R., N.E. N.Y. and s. on the mts. to Va. This beautiful, fragrant tree, the finest eastern Christmas tree, is chiefly valuable for its resin and Canada Balsam which is gathered from the stem blisters in summer and used in painting and scientific laboratories. The fragrant needles are put into pillows. On the mts. of N.C. and Tenn. its place is taken by SHE BALSAM (Abies Fraseri) which is similar, but with cones only 1-2 in. long, the fringed bracts showing between the scales.

CANADIAN HEMLOCK (Tsuga canadensis)

Shape a broad-based pyramid, the tip feathery; 50-80 ft. tall. Trunk often fluted. Bark reddish to gray brown, with shallow, broad, connecting ridges, somewhat scaly. Branches long, slender, horizontal or drooping at base, ascending near top. Needles all in 1 plane, shining, paler below, flattened, ½ in. long, short-stalked. Cones small, short-stalked, hanging, few-scaled, 3-4 in. long. Range: N.S. to Wis., and Minn., s. to Del. and along the mts. to Ga. The value of this tree lies chiefly in its bark, rich in tannin, though the frail wood is sometimes used in exterior finishing. A lovely ornamental but not so much so as the CAROLINA HEMLOCK (Tsuga caroliniana) in the Blue Ridge from Va. to Ga., which has needles bristling all around the twigs, like a fir, and a very compact, pyramidal, elegant small stature.

WESTERN HEMLOCK (Tsuga heterophylla)

Shape broadly pyramidal, becoming narrow in age; up to 200 ft. tall. Bark ridged and ruddy. Branches slender and pendulous, the twigs bright red, upright. Needles spirally arranged around the twigs, curved, acute, round or keeled, slender, light bluish green with whitish lines on both sides, ½-1 in. long. Cones 2-3 in. long. Range: se. Alaska to Marin Co. Calif., s. in the Rockies to Ida. and Mont. The wood is strong, easily worked. The bark is rich in tannin and the inner bark is eaten by Indians. This magnificent tree is the king of hemlocks. MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK (Tsuga Mertensiana) has much the same range and also extends along the w. slopes of the Sierra Nevada. It has cones up to 3 in. long, bright purplish or reddish, and beautiful drooping branches and long thick needles.

DOUGLAS FIR (Pseudotsuga taxifolia)

Shape with a broad or narrow pyramidal crown; up to 200 ft. tall. Bark smooth, shiny, dark gray-brown; in age deeply fissured, forming broad ridges. Branches: lower drooping, middle and upper ascending. Needles ¾-1¼ in. long. Cones 2-4 in. long with thin scales from which finally protrude the 3-forked bracts. Range: B. C. to centr. Calif. and n. Mex., along the Rockies from Mont. to w. Tex. and N. Mex. This is an important timber tree, especially in Oregon; it is used for all kinds of construction and for ties. For wharf piles it is preferred in all the Pacific ports: it makes spars and masts of unequalled strength. BIG CONE DOUGLAS FIR (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) has much larger cones with scales projecting at right angles from the axis. Mts. of s. Calif.