Pinaceae
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Pinaceae > |
Read about Pinaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Pinaceae (from the genus Pinus, the classical Latin name). Pine Family. Fig. 5. Tree or shrub, with no true vessels in the secondary wood, but with resin- tubes: leaves linear, or needle-like, or scale-like, alternate or opposite, evergreen or deciduous: anthers and ovules both in true cones plainly subtended by scales (sporophylls); the staminate scales usually bearing 2-6, rarely more, anthers on the under side; the pistillate bearing 1-2, rarely many, ovules on the upper side, or peltate and ovule-bearing under the crown or at its base; ovules with 1 integument: fruit a dry woody cone with dry, often winged seeds between the scales; or berry-like through the union of the fleshy cone-scales. Sub-family 1. Cupressineae.—Cone-scales opposite; ovules erect: leaves opposite or whorled. Sub-family 2. Abietineae.—Cone-scales alternate; ovules inverted: leaves alternate. There are 25 genera and about 240 species, widely distributed but most abundant in temperate regions. The largest genus is Pinus with 70 species. The family is related to the Taxaceae and Ginkgoaceae, from which it differs in the presence of true staminate and pistillate cones. It also differs from the latter in the absence of motile sperm-cells. The Pinaceae, like other Gymnosperms, is an old group, more abundant in former geologic ages. Many fossil species are known. The Sequoias of California were formerly more abundant, extending to Greenland. The young plants of many Cupressineae possess foliage quite different in appearance from the mature foliage, the leaves being longer and more spreading. These juvenile forms have been called Retinisporas, a name which has been applied also to all cultivated species of Chamaecyparis. Juniper "berries" are fleshy cones with peltate, fused scales. The leaves of Larix, Pseudolarix and Cedrus are deciduous. The branchlets and leaves are deciduous in Taxodium. The cone-scales of many Abietineae are double, an outer thinner 3-toothed scale, and a thick inner scale that bears the ovules (see Pseudotsuga). Among the Pinaceae are some of our most valuable timber trees; e. g., cedar, arborvitae, spruce, fir, hemlock and redwood. The resin from various pines when distilled yields spirits of turpentine and rosin; when dry-distilled, it yields tar. Venice turpentine is the resinous exudation of European larches: Canada balsam that of Abies balsamea. Dammar resin is from the Malayan Agathis Dammara. Kauri resin is the semi-fossilized resin of Agathis australis of Australia and New Zealand. Sandarac resin is from Callitris quadrivalvis of Northwest Africa. Amber is the fossilized resin of prehistoric conifers around the Baltic. Oil of savin is from the leaves and twigs of Juniperus sabina, and oil of cedar from Thuya occidentalis. Juniper berries, from J. communis of Europe and America, are diuretic and also used for flavoring gin. Edible seeds are produced by Pinus Pinea (stone pine) of the Mediterranean, P. Cembra of Europe and Siberia, P. Parryana and P. edulis of the southwestern United States, Podocarpus neriifolia of the East Indies, Araucaria braziliana of Brazil, and A. Bidwillii of Australia. Bread is made by the Laps and Eskimos from the inner bark of Pinus sylvestris and Abies alba; also from various Pinaceae by our northwestern Indians. Deodar (Cedrus Deodara) is sacred to the Hindoos. Cedrus Libani is the cedar of Lebanon. Pine bark was formerly used for tanning. Many genera are in cultivation in America. Among these are: Abies (Fir, Balsam); Araucaria (Norfolk Island Pine, Monkey Puzzle); Callitris (Cypress Pine); Cedrus (Cedar of Lebanon, Deodar); Chamaecyparis (White Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Hinoki Cypress, Sawara Cypress, Retinispora, Japanese Cedar); Cryptomeria; Cupressus (Cypress, Monterey Cypress); Juniperus (Red Cedar, Juniper, Savin); Larix (Larch, Tamarack, Hackmatack); Libocedrus (Incense Cedar, White Cedar); Picea (Spruce); Pinus (Pine, Pinnon, Soledad); Pseudolarix (Golden Larch); Pseudotsuga (Douglas Spruce, Red Fir); Sciadopitys (Umbrella Pine); Sequoia (Big Tree of California, Redwood); Taxodium (Bald Cypress, Deciduous Cypress); Thuya (Arborvitae, White Cedar); Thuyopsis; Tsuga (Hemlock Spruce).CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Pinaceae. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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