In sheltered lake-hollows, on beds of alluvium, this
pine varies so far from the common form that frequently
it could be taken for a distinct species, growing
in damp sods like grasses from forty to eighty feet
high, bending all together to the breeze and whirling
in eddying gusts more lively than any other tree in
the woods. I frequently found specimens fifty
feet high less than five inches in diameter. Being
so slender and at the same time clad with leafy boughs,
it is often bent and weighed down to the ground when
laden with soft snow; thus forming fine ornamental
arches, many of them to last until the melting of the
snow in the spring.
The Mountain Pine
The Mountain Pine (Pinus monticola) is the noblest
tree of the alpine zone—hardy and long-lived
towering grandly above its companions and becoming
stronger and more imposing just where other species
begin to crouch and disappear. At its best it
is usually about ninety feet high and five or six
feet in diameter, though you may find specimens here
and there considerably larger than this. It is
as massive and suggestive of enduring strength as
an oak. About two-thirds of the trunk is commonly
free of limbs, but close, fringy tufts of spray occur
nearly all the way down to the ground. On trees
that occupy exposed situations near its upper limit
the bark is deep reddish-brown and rather deeply furrowed,
the main furrows running nearly parallel to each other
and connected on the old trees by conspicuous cross-furrows.
The cones are from four to eight inches long, smooth,
slender, cylindrical and somewhat curved. They
grow in clusters of from three to six or seven and
become pendulous as they increase in weight.
This species is nearly related to the sugar pine and,
though not half so tall, it suggests its noble relative
in the way that it extends its long branches in general
habit. It is first met on the upper margin of
the silver fir zone, singly, in what appears as chance
situations without making much impression on the general
forest. Continuing up through the forests of
the two-leaved pine it begins to show its distinguishing
characteristic in the most marked way at an elevation
of about 10,000 feet extending its tough, rather slender
arms in the frosty air, welcoming the storms and feeding
on them and reaching sometimes to the grand old age
of 1000 years.
The Western Juniper
The Juniper or Red Cedar (Juniperus occidentalis)
is preeminently a rock tree, occupying the baldest
domes and pavements in the upper silver fir and alpine
zones, at a height of from 7000 to 9500 feet.
In such situations, rooted in narrow cracks or fissures,
where there is scarcely a handful of soil, it is frequently
over eight feet in diameter and not much more in height.
The tops of old trees are almost always dead, and
large stubborn-looking limbs push out horizontally,
Copyrights
The Yosemite from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
