far south as the shores of Casco bay; New Hampshire,--abundant around
the shores of the Connecticut river, disappearing southward at
Fifteen-Mile falls; Vermont,--restricted mainly to the northern
sections, more common in the northeast; Massachusetts,--occasional in
the mountainous regions of Berkshire county; a few trees in Hancock (A.
K. Harrington); as far south as Amherst (J. E. Humphrey) and Northampton
(Mrs. Emily H. Terry), probably about the southern limit of the species;
Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported.
West through the northern sections of the northern tier of states
to the Rocky mountains.
=Habit.=--A handsome tree, 40-75 feet high, with a diameter of 1-2 feet
at the ground, the trunk tapering slowly, throwing out numerous
scattered or irregularly whorled, gently ascending or nearly horizontal
branches, forming a symmetrical, rather broad conical head, with
numerous branchlets and bluish-green glaucous foliage spread in dense
planes; gum bitter.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk pale reddish-brown or light gray, on very old
trees ash-white; not as flaky as the bark of the red spruce, the scales
smaller and more closely appressed; young trees and small branches much
smoother, pale reddish-brown or mottled brown and gray, resembling the
fir balsam; branchlets glabrous; shoots from which the leaves have
fallen marked by the scaly, persistent leaf-cushions; new shoots pale
fawn-color at first, turning darker the second season; bark of the tree
throughout decidedly lighter than that of the red or black spruces.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds scaly, ovoid or conical, about 1/4 inch
long, light brown. Leaves scattered, stout as those of _P. rubra_ or
very slender, those on the lower side straight or twisted so as to
appear on the upper side, giving a brush-like appearance to the twig,
about 3/4 of an inch long; bluish-green, glaucous on the new shoots,
needle-shaped, 4-angled, slightly curved, bluntish or sharp-pointed,
often mucronate, marked on each side with several parallel rows of dots,
malodorous, especially when bruised.
=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile flowers terminal or axillary, on
wood of the preceding season; distinctly stalked; cylindrical, 1/2 an
inch long; anthers pale red: fertile flowers at or near ends of season's
shoots; scales pale red or green, spirally imbricated, broader than
long; margin roundish, entire or nearly so; each scale bearing two
ovules.
=Fruit.=--Cones short-stalked, at or near ends of branchlets, light
green while growing, pale brownish when mature, spreading, 1-2-1/2
inches long, when closed cylindrical, tapering towards the apex,
cylindrical or ovate-cylindrical when open, mostly falling the first
winter; scales broad, thin, smooth; margin rounded, sometimes
straight-topped, usually entire.
=Horticultural Value.=--A beautiful tree, requiring cold winters for its
finest development, the best of our New England spruces for ornamental
and forest plantations in the northern sections; grows rapidly in moist
or well-drained soils, in open sun or shade, and in exposed situations.
The foliage is sometimes infested by the red spider. Propagated from
seed.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Picea alba.]
1. Branch with sterile flowers.
2. Stamen, front view.
3. Stamen, side view.
4. Branch with fertile flowers.
5. Cover-scale and ovuliferous scale, outer side.
6. Ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side.
7. Fruiting branch.
8. Open cone.
9. Seed with ovuliferous scale.
10. Leaves.
11. Cross-sections of leaves.
=Tsuga Canadensis, Carr.=
HEMLOCK.
=Habitat and Range.=--Cold soils, borders of swamps, deep woods,
ravines, mountain slopes.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, through Quebec and Ontario.
Maine,--abundant, generally distributed in the southern and central
portions, becoming rare northward, disappearing entirely in most of
Aroostook county and the northern Penobscot region; New
Hampshire,--abundant, from the sea to a height of 2000 feet in the White
mountains, disappearing in upper Coos county; Vermont,--common,
especially in the mountain forests; Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut,--common.
South to Delaware and along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama,
ascending to an altitude of 2000 feet in the Adirondacks; west to
Michigan and Minnesota.
=Habit.=--A large handsome tree, 50-80 feet high; trunk 2-4 feet in
diameter, straight, tapering very slowly; branches going out at right
angles, not disposed in whorls, slender, brittle yet elastic, the lowest
declined or drooping; head spreading, somewhat irregular, widest at the
base; spray airy, graceful, plume-like, set in horizontal planes;
foliage dense, extremely delicate, dark lustrous green above and silver
green below, tipped in spring with light yellow green.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk reddish-brown, interior often cinnamon red,
shallow-furrowed in old trees; young trunks and branches of large trees
gray brown, smooth; season's shoots very slender, buff or light
reddish-brown, minutely pubescent.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Winter buds minute, red brown. Leaves
spirally arranged but brought by the twisting of the leafstalk into two
horizontal rows on opposite sides of the twig, about 1/2 an inch long,
yellow green when young, becoming at maturity dark shining green on the
upper surface, white-banded along the midrib beneath, flat, linear,
smooth, occasionally minutely toothed, especially in the upper half;
apex obtuse; base obtuse; leafstalk slender, short but distinct,
resting on a slightly projecting leaf-cushion.
=Inflorescence.=--Sterile flowers from the axils of the preceding year's
leaves, consisting of globose clusters of stamens with spurred anthers:
fertile catkins at ends of preceding year's branchlets, scales crimson.
=Fruit.=--Cones, on stout footstalks at ends of branchlets, pointing
downward, ripening the first year, light brown, about 3/4 of an inch
long, ovate-elliptical, pointed; scales rounded at the edge, entire or
obscurely toothed.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows almost
anywhere, but prefers a good, light, loamy or gravelly soil on moist
slopes; a very effective tree single or in groups, useful in shady
places, and a favorite hedge plant; not affected by rust or insect
enemies; in open ground retains its lower branches for many years. About
twenty horticultural forms, with variations in foliage, of columnar,
densely globular, or weeping habit, are offered for sale in nurseries.
[Illustration: PLATE IX.--Tsuga Canadensis.]
1. Branch with flower-buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Sterile flowers.
4. Spurred anther.
5. Branch with fertile flowers.
6. Ovuliferous scale with ovule, inner side.
7. Fruiting branch.
8. Cover-scales with seeds.
9. Leaf.
10. Cross-section of leaf.
=Abies balsamea, Mill.=
FIR BALSAM. BALSAM. FIR.
=Habitat and Range.=--Rich, damp, cool woods, deep swamps, mountain
slopes.
Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, northwest to the Great
Bear Lake region.
Maine,--very generally distributed, ordinarily associated with white
pine, black spruce, red spruce, and a few deciduous trees, growing at an
altitude of 4500 feet upon Katahdin; New Hampshire,--common in upper
Coos county and in the White mountains, where it climbs up to the alpine
area; in the southern part of the state, in the extensive swamps
around the sources of the Contoocook and Miller's rivers, it is the
prevailing timber; Vermont,--common; not rare on mountain slopes and
even summits; Massachusetts,--not uncommon on mountain slopes in the
northwestern and central portions of the state, ranging above the red
spruces upon Graylock; a few trees here and there in damp woods or cold
swamps in the southern and eastern sections, where it has probably been
accidentally introduced; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported.
South to Pennsylvania and along high mountains to Virginia; west to
Minnesota.
=Habit.=--A slender, handsome tree, the most symmetrical of the New
England spruces, with a height of 25-60 feet, and a diameter of 1-2 feet
at the ground, reduced to a shrub at high altitudes; branches in young
trees usually in whorls; branchlets mostly opposite. The branches go out
from the trunk at an angle varying to a marked degree even in trees of
about the same size and apparent age; in some trees declined near the
base, horizontal midway, ascending near the top; in others horizontal or
ascending throughout; in others declining throughout like those of the
Norway spruce; all these forms growing apparently under precisely the
same conditions; head widest at the base and tapering regularly upward;
foliage dark bright green; cones erect and conspicuous.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in old trees a variegated ashen gray, appearing
smooth at a short distance, but often beset with fine scales, with one
edge scarcely revolute, giving a ripply aspect; branches and young trees
mottled or striate, greenish-brown and very smooth; branchlets from
which the leaves have fallen marked with nearly circular leaf-scars;
season's shoots pubescent; bark of trunk in all trees except the oldest
with numerous blisters, containing the Canada balsam of commerce.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds small, roundish, resinous, grouped on
the leading shoots. Leaves scattered, spirally arranged in rows, at
right angles to twig, or disposed in two ranks like the hemlock; 1/2-1
inch long, dark glossy green on the upper surface, beneath silvery
bluish-white, and traversed lengthwise by rows of minute dots, flat,
narrowly linear; apex blunt, in young trees and upon vigorous shoots,
often slightly but distinctly notched, or sometimes upon upper branches
with a sharp, rigid point; sessile; aromatic.
=Inflorescence.=--Early spring. Lateral or terminal on shoots of the
preceding season; sterile flowers oblong-cylindrical, 1/4 inch in
length; anthers yellow, red-tinged: fertile flowers on the upper side of
the twig, erect, cylindrical; cover-scales broad, much larger than the
purple ovuliferous scales, terminating in a long, recurved tip.
=Fruit.=--Cones along the upper side of the branchlets, erect or nearly
so in all stages of growth, purplish when young, 3-5 inches long, 1 inch
or more wide; puberulous; cover-scales at maturity much smaller than
ovuliferous scales, thin, obovate, serrulate, bristle-pointed;
ovuliferous scales thin, broad, rounded; edge minutely erose, serrulate
or entire; both kinds of scales falling from the axis at maturity; seeds
winged, purplish.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England, but best adapted to the
northern sections; grows rapidly in open or shaded situations,
especially where there is cool, moist, rich soil; easily transplanted;
suitable for immediate effects in forest plantations, but not desirable
for a permanent ornamental tree, as it loses the lower branches at an
early period. Nurserymen and collectors offer it in quantity at a low
price. Propagated from seed.
[Illustration: PLATE X.--Abies balsamea.]
1. Branch with flower-buds.
2. Branch with sterile flowers.
3. Branch with fertile flowers.
4. Cover-scale and ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side.
5. Fruiting branch.
6. Ovuliferous scales with ovules at maturity, inner side.
7. Cone-scale and ovuliferous scale at maturity, outer side.
8-9. Leaves.
10-11. Cross-sections of leaves.
=Thuja occidentalis, L.=
ARBOR-VITÆ. WHITE CEDAR. CEDAR.
=Habitat and Range.=--Low, swampy lands, rocky borders of rivers and
ponds.
Southern Labrador to Nova Scotia; west to Manitoba.
Maine,--throughout the state; most abundant in the central and northern
portions, forming extensive areas known as "cedar swamps"; sometimes
bordering a growth of black spruce at a lower level; New
Hampshire,--mostly confined to the upper part of Coos county,
disappearing at the White river narrows near Hanover; seen only in
isolated localities south of the White mountains; Vermont,--common in
swamps at levels below 1000 feet; Massachusetts,--Berkshire county;
occasional in the northern sections of the Connecticut river valley;
Rhode Island,--not reported; Connecticut,--East Hartford (J. N. Bishop).
South along the mountains to North Carolina and East Tennessee;
west to Minnesota.
=Habit.=--Ordinarily 25-50 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-2 feet,
in northern Maine occasionally 60-70 feet in height, with a diameter of
3-5 feet; trunk stout, more or less buttressed in old trees, tapering
rapidly, often divided, inclined or twisted, ramifying for the most part
near the ground, forming a dense head, rather small for the size of the
trunk; branches irregularly disposed and nearly horizontal, the lower
often much declined; branchlets many, the flat spray disposed in
fan-shaped planes at different angles; foliage bright, often
interspersed here and there with yellow, faded leaves.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in old trees a dead ash-gray, striate with broad
and flat ridges, often conspicuously spirally twisted, shreddy at the
edge; young stems and large branches reddish-brown, more or less striate
and shreddy; branchlets ultimately smooth, shining, reddish-brown,
marked by raised scars; season's twigs invested with leaves.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves in opposite
pairs, 4-ranked, closely adherent to the branchlet and completely
covering it, keeled in the side pairs and flat in the others,
scale-like, ovate (in seedlings needle-shaped), obtuse or pointed at the
apex, glandular upon the back, exhaling when bruised a strong aromatic
odor.
=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Flowers terminal, dark reddish-brown;
sterile and fertile, usually on the same plant, rarely on separate
plants; anthers opposite; filaments short; ovuliferous scales opposite,
with slight projections near the base, usually 2-ovuled.
=Fruit.=--Cones, terminal on short branchlets, spreading or recurved,
about 1/2 inch long, reddish-brown, loose-scaled, opening to the base at
maturity; persistent through the first winter; scales 6-12, dry, oblong,
not shield-shaped, not pointed; margin entire or nearly so; seeds winged
all round.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England; adapts itself to all soils
and exposures, but prefers moist locations; grows slowly. Young trees
have a narrowly conical outline, which spreads out at the base with age;
retains its lower branches in open places, and is especially useful for
hedges or narrow evergreen screens; little affected by insects; often
disfigured, however, by dead branches and discolored leaves; is
transplanted readily, and can be obtained in any quantity from
nurserymen and collectors. The horticultural forms in cultivation range
from thick, low, spreading tufts, through very dwarf, round, oval or
conical forms, to tall, narrow, pyramidal varieties. Some have all the
foliage tinged bright yellow, cream, or white; others have variegated
foliage; another form has drooping branches. The bright summer foliage
turns to a brownish color in winter. It is propagated from the seed and
its horticultural forms from cuttings and layers.
[Illustration: PLATE XI.--Thuja occidentalis.]
1. Flowering branch with the preceding year's fruit.
2. Branch.
3. Sterile flower.
4. Stamen.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Scale with ovules.
=Cupressus thyoides, L.=
_Chamæcyparis sphæroidea, Spach. Chamæcyparis thyoides, B. S. P._
WHITE CEDAR. CEDAR.
=Habitat and Range.=--In deep swamps and marshes, which it often fills
to the exclusion of other trees, mostly near the seacoast.
Cape Breton island and near Halifax, Nova Scotia, perhaps
introduced in both.
Maine,--reported from the southern part of York county; New
Hampshire,--limited to Rockingham county near the coast; Vermont,--no
station known; Massachusetts,--occasional in central and eastern
sections, very common in the southeast; Rhode Island,--common;
Connecticut,--occasional in peat swamps.
Southward, coast region to Florida and west to Mississippi.
=Habit.=--20-50 feet high and 1-2 feet in diameter at the ground,
reaching in the southern states an altitude of 90 and a diameter of 4
feet; trunk straight, tapering slowly, throwing out nearly horizontal,
slender branches, forming a narrow, conical head often of great elegance
and lightness; foliage light brownish-green; strong-scented; spray flat
in planes disposed at different angles; wood permanently aromatic.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk thick, reddish, fibrous, shreddy, separating into
thin scales, becoming more or less furrowed in old trees; branches
reddish-brown; fine scaled; branches after fall of leaves, in the third
or fourth year, smooth, purplish-brown; season's shoots at first
greenish.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves mostly
opposite, 4-ranked, adherent to the branchlet and completely covering
it; keeled in the side pairs and slightly convex in the others, dull
green, pointed at apex or triangular awl-shaped, mostly with a minute
roundish gland upon the back.
=Inflorescence.=--April. Flowers terminal, sterile and fertile, usually
on the same plant, rarely on separate plants, fertile on short
branchlets: sterile, globular or oblong, anthers opposite, filaments
shield-shaped: fertile, oblong or globular; ovuliferous scales opposite,
slightly spreading at top, dark reddish-brown.
=Fruit.=--Cones, variously placed, 1/2 inch in diameter, roundish,
purplish-brown, opening towards the center, never to the base; scales
shield-shaped, woody; seeds several under each scale, winged.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England, growing best in
the southern sections. Young trees are graceful and attractive, but soon
become thin and lose their lower branches; valued chiefly in landscape
planting for covering low and boggy places where other trees do not
succeed as well. Seldom for sale in nurseries, but easily procured from
collectors. Several unimportant horticultural forms are grown.
[Illustration: PLATE XII.--Cupressus thyoides.]
1. Branch with flowers.
2. Sterile flower.
3. Stamen, back view.
4. Stamen, front view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Ovuliferous scale with ovules.
7. Fruiting-branch.
8. Fruit.
9. Branch.
=Juniperus Virginiana, L.=
RED CEDAR. CEDAR. SAVIN.
=Habitat and Range.=--Dry, rocky hills but not at great altitudes,
borders of lakes and streams, sterile plains, peaty swamps.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Ontario.
Maine,--rare, though it extends northward to the middle Kennebec valley,
reduced almost to a shrub; New Hampshire,--most frequent in the
southeast part of the state; sparingly in the Connecticut valley as far
north as Haverhill (Grafton county); found also in Hart's location in
the White mountain region; Vermont,--not abundant; occurs here and there
on hills at levels less than 1000 feet; frequent in the Champlain and
lower Connecticut valleys; Massachusetts,--west and center occasional,
eastward common; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.
South to Florida; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian
Territory.
=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 25-40 feet high, with a trunk diameter of
8-20 inches, attaining much greater dimensions southward; extremely
variable in outline; the lower branches usually nearly horizontal, the
upper ascending; head when young very regular, narrow-based, close and
conical; in old trees frequently rather open, wide-spreading, ragged,
roundish or flattened. In very exposed situations, especially along the
seacoast, the trunk sometimes rises a foot or two and then develops
horizontally, forming a curiously contorted lateral head. Under such
conditions it occasionally becomes a dwarf tree 2-3 feet high, with
wide-spreading branches and a very dense dome; spray close, foliage a
sombre green, sometimes tinged with a rusty brownish-red; wood pale red,
aromatic.
=Bark.=--Bark of trunk light reddish-brown, fibrous, shredding off, now
and then, in long strips, exposing the smooth brown inner bark; season's
shoots green.
=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves dull green or
brownish-red, of two kinds:
1. Scale-like, mostly opposite, each pair overlapping the pair above,
4-ranked, ovate, acute, sometimes bristle-tipped, more or less convex,
obscurely glandular.
2. Scattered, not overlapping, narrowly lanceolate or needle-shaped,
sharp-pointed, spreading. The second form is more common in young trees,
sometimes comprising all the foliage, but is often found on trees of all
ages, sometimes aggregated in dense masses.
=Inflorescence.=--Early May. Flowers terminating short branches, sterile
and fertile, more commonly on separate trees, often on the same tree;
anthers in opposite pairs; ovuliferous scales in opposite pairs,
slightly spreading, acute or obtuse; ovules 1-4.
=Fruit.=--Berry-like from the coalescence of the fleshy cone-scales, the
extremities of which are often visible, roundish, the size of a small
pea, dark blue beneath a whitish bloom, 1-4-seeded.
=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers sunny
slopes and a loamy soil, but grows well in poor, thin soils and upon
wind-swept sites; young plants increase in height 1-2 feet yearly and
have a very formal, symmetrical outline; old trees often become
irregular and picturesque, and grow very slowly; a long-lived tree;
usually obtainable in nurseries and from collectors, but must frequently
be transplanted to be moved with safety. If a ball of earth can be
retained about the roots of wild plants, they can often be moved
successfully. There are horticultural forms distinguished by a slender
weeping or distorted habit, and by variegated bluish or yellowish
foliage, occasionally found in American nurseries. The type is usually
propagated from the seed, the horticultural forms from cuttings or by
grafting.
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.--Juniperus Virginiana.]
1. Branch with sterile and fertile flowers.
2. Sterile flower.
3. Stamen with pollen-sacs.
4. Fertile flower.
5. Fruiting branch.
6. Branch.
7. Branch with needle-shaped leaves.
SALICACEÆ. WILLOW FAMILY.
Trees or shrubs; leaves simple, alternate, undivided, with stipules
either minute and soon falling or leafy and persistent; inflorescence
from axillary buds of the preceding season, appearing with or before the
leaves, in nearly erect, spreading or drooping catkins, sterile and
fertile on separate trees; flowers one to each bract, without calyx
or corolla; stamens one to many; style short or none; stigmas 2, entire
or 2-4-lobed; fruit a 2-4-celled capsule.
POPULUS.
Inflorescence usually appearing before the leaves; flowers with lacerate
bracts, disk cup-shaped and oblique-edged, at least in sterile flowers;
stamens usually many, filaments distinct; stigmas mostly divided,
elongated or spreading.
SALIX.
Inflorescence appearing with or before the leaves; flowers with entire
bracts and one or two small glands; disks wanting; stamens few.
=Populus tremuloides, Michx.=
POPLAR. ASPEN.
=Habitat and Range.=--In all soils and situations except in deep swamps,
though more usual in dry uplands; sometimes springing up in great
abundance in clearings or upon burnt lands.
Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia to the Hudson bay region
and Alaska.
New England,--common, reaching in the White mountain region an altitude
of 3000 feet.
South to New Jersey, along the mountains in Pennsylvania and
Kentucky, ascending 3000 feet in the Adirondacks; west to the
slopes of the Rocky mountains, along which it extends to Mexico and
Lower California.