Winter Buds and Leaves.—Leading branch-buds ¼-½ inch long, oblong or ovate-oblong, sharp-pointed; scales yellowish-brown.
Foliage leaves in clusters of five, slender, 3-5 inches long, soft bluish-green, needle-shaped, 3-sided, mucronate, each with a single fibrovascular bundle, sessile.
Inflorescence.—June. Sterile flowers at the base of the season's shoots, in clusters, each flower about one inch long, oval, light brown; stamens numerous; connectives scale-like: fertile flowers near the terminal bud of the season's shoots, long-stalked, cylindrical; scales pink-margined.
Fruit.—Cones, 4-6 inches long, short-stalked, narrow-cylindrical, often curved, finally pendent, green, maturing the second year; scales rather loose, scarcely thickened at the apex, not spiny; seeds winged, smooth.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; free from disease; grows well in almost any soil, but prefers a light fertile loam; in open ground retains its lower branches for many years. Good plants, grown from seed, are usually readily obtainable in nurseries; small collected plants from open ground can be moved in sods with little risk.
Several horticultural forms are occasionally cultivated which are distinguished by variations in foliage, trailing branches, dense and rounded heads, and dwarfed or cylindrical habits of growth.
Plate II. Pinus Strobus.
| 1. Branch with sterile flowers. |
| 2. Stamen. |
| 3. Branch with fertile flowers. |
| 4. Bract and ovuliferous scale, outer side. |
| 5. Ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side. |
| 6. Branch with cones. |
| 7. Cross-section of leaf. |