Diversions of a NaturalistLankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
History
Diversions of a Naturalist
Lankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
Natural history
There are two pine trees of the genus Pinus which one comes across,
either in English plantations or on the Continent, and are readily
distinguished by having the leaves (needles) in bundles of five. The
first of these is the Arolla pine--Pinus Cembra (French, _cembrot_)--a
pine tree much like the Scots fir in general appearance, but
distinguishable from it, not only by the tufts of five needles in a
bunch instead of two, but also by the erect cones which are nearly as
broad as long (3 in. by 2 in.). It is essentially a Siberian tree, and
grows in Europe only on the Carpathian Mountains and the Alps. I have
seen it in the neighbourhood of the Rhone Valley in Switzerland, but it
is yearly becoming rarer owing to its destruction at the great heights
(4000 to 6000 feet), where it formerly flourished, by the herdsmen in
order to extend the pasturage for their milk industry. The other pine
with five leaves in a tuft, which one may often see, is the Weymouth
pine--Pinus Strobus. It is a native of the New England States and
Canada, where it is known as the white pine, and is greatly valued as a
timber tree. It was introduced and planted in England by Lord Weymouth
at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and is a very handsome
tree, growing to 120 feet in height, with a bluish-green colour of the
foliage like that of the Scots fir. The needles are 3 to 4 inches long,
and the cones pendulous, 5 to 6 inches long and blunt. Another pine of
the five-leaved group is to be seen in gardens in the South of Europe
(for instance at Baveno on the Lago Maggiore), where it is introduced
from Mexico. This is the Pinus Montezumæ, which has extraordinarily
long tufts of needles of a blue-green colour, each needle from 7 to
10 inches long, arranged as radiating or fan-like growths of great
beauty and striking appearance. The Bohtan pine of the Himalayas (Pinus
excelsa--not to be confused with Picea excelsa, the spruce) is also a
five-leaved species. Several specimens of it are flourishing in Kew
Gardens.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account