Part 19

=Fruit=.—Cones maturing at end of second year; ovoid, 1½-2½ inches long; flat scales, armed with weak, often deciduous prickles; seeds triangular, winged, brown mottled with black.

=Bark=.—On the trunk broken into large more or less rectangular plates the scales of which readily peel off.

=Wood=.—Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, yellowish.

=Range=.—New York to Florida and west to Missouri and Texas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—A scattered growth in the hilly counties lying east of the Ohio river and in the counties along the Alleghany Mountains.

=Habitat=.—Usually found with hardwoods and other pines on clay or gravelly soil, on hills or stony slopes.

=Notes=.—The Yellow-Pine can be distinguished from the other pines by its clusters of two and three slender leaves and its small cones. It furnishes excellent lumber for commerce and is extensively used for many purposes in buildings.

JERSEY OR SCRUB PINE

=Pinus virginiana=, Mill.

=Form=.—A small tree usually 30-50 feet high, diameter 1-2 feet; trunk short and often crooked; crown pyramidal to flat-topped.

=Leaves=.—Clustered in twos, 1½-3 inches long, twisted, rather stout, sharp-pointed, gray-green.

=Flowers=.—April-May; monoecious; staminate in clusters at base of new growth, yellow-brown; pistillate near middle of season’s growth, pale green, the scale tips rose-colored.

=Fruit=.—Ovoid when open, sometimes slightly curved; scales thin, nearly flat, bright brown, with persistent prickles.

=Bark=.—With shallow fissures, and dark brown loose scales.

=Wood=.—Light, soft, brittle, pale orange with whitish sapwood.

=Range=.—Southern New York to Georgia, west to Kentucky and southern Indiana.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Common in Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Grant, Mercer and other counties southward along the mountains; less common in Barbour, Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Monongalia, Randolph, Ritchie, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

=Habitat=.—Prefers light sandy and thin rocky soils; often found on exhausted farm lands.

=Notes=.—This species is most easily confused with yellow pine, but can be distinguished by its uniform 2-leaf clusters, small prickly cones and comparatively smooth bark. The leaves are twisted and divergent, giving the twigs a disheveled appearance. Of little value as a timber tree; wood used chiefly for boxes, crates, fencing, ties, and fuel.

TAMARACK

=Larix laricina=, (DuRoi) Koch.

=Form=.—A tree usually 30-60 feet high, 1-2 feet in diameter; trunk straight, tapering, and having numerous slender, upward-curving branches; crown narrowly pyramidal.

=Leaves=.—Scattered singly or clustered in dense fascicles on short lateral spurs; linear, triangular in cross-section, ¾-1¼ inches long, light green, falling each year in autumn.

=Flowers=.—May, with the leaves; monoecious; staminate sessile, sub-globose, yellow; pistillate oblong with light-colored bracts and nearly orbicular rose-colored scales.

=Fruit=.—Cones mature autumn of first season; ovoid, obtuse, ½-¾ inch long with few light brown rounded scales.

=Bark=.—Thin, roughened with small rounded red-brown scales.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, slightly resinous, very strong, durable in soil, light brown.

=Range=.—Newfoundland south to Maryland and West Virginia, west to Minnesota and the Rocky Mountains, through British Columbia to Alaska.