Gordon's The Pinetum

For relaxation some people like to curl up with a good book. Well, I never curl, and seldom do I relax, but I did spend the week with a fascinating book: George Gordon's The Pinetum published in 1858. In last week's blog I discussed Pinus attenuata which Gordon previously named Pinus tuberculata in 1849, and since he was a bonafide botanist I don't know why his name didn't stick.

Chiswick House Conservatory

George Gordon (1807-1879) worked for the London Horticultural Society – which later became the Royal Horticultural Society – as Foreman of Society Gardens at Chiswick in west London. The Chiswick garden is long gone with the Society's replacement at Wisley, Surrey in 1904. Gordon's first edition is described as “A synopsis of all the coniferous plants at present known, with descriptions, history and synonymes,” and it also promises: “One Hundred New Kinds.” Nothing explains further about the “New Kinds,” but the implication is that these 100 had never been described (in book form) before. The title page adds the credentials of A.L.S. after Gordon's name but I have no idea what that stands for – certainly not Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, AKA Lou Gehrig's disease.

Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland

The first edition was dedicated to Algernon, Duke of Northumberland, K.G. – “a great admirer of hardy trees, the cultivation of which in England has been much influenced by the many fine specimens in his Grace's park and pleasure grounds at Syon, THIS WORK is very respectfully dedicated, by His Obedient and Humble Servant, George Gordon.” I don't know...perhaps the Duke financed the publication.

Picea torano

Gordon followed the 1858 The Pinetum with a “fully revised” second edition in 1875, and I'll make an effort to acquire it to see what has been revised, what has changed. If you check the index you'll notice a lot of double listings, for example Abies bracteata directs you to page 145 while Picea bracteata also directs you to page 145. Abies Torano [sic] Siebold is on page 12 as is Abies polita Zuccarini, then Picea polita Carriere is on page 12 but there's no listing for Picea torano which is the accepted designation these days. What Gordon is doing is putting all the synonyms into the index which is cluttering and confusing.

Abies bracteata in Santa Lucia

Abies bracteata

Back to Picea bracteata (syn. Abies bracteata Hooker, syn. Pinus bracteata Don, syn. Pinus venusta Douglas), Gordon describes it: “A tall, slender tree, growing 120 feet high, but only two or three feet in diameter, first discovered by Douglas, on the mountains along the Columbia River, and afterwards by Dr. Coulter and Hartweg, on the sea range of Santa Lucia...” Of course Abies bracteata has never been found along the Columbia, but mistakes like that are what makes old books fun. Today we know that the first known specimen was collected in the Santa Lucias in 1831 or 1832 by either botanists Thomas Coulter or David Douglas, probably from Cone Peak to the west of Mission San Antonio. Both sent specimens to England, but Coulter's specimen was first identified as bracteata and so that's why we use the name today. Interesting that Hillier in his Manual of Trees and Shrubs (2014) says that William Lobb introduced Abies bracteata in 1852, so apparently that was another collection 20 years later. Gordon sums up his description with: “It is quite hardy, but suffers very much in its young growth from late spring frosts.”

Tsuga mertensiana

If you look for Tsuga mertensiana in the index you won't find it. Instead Abies Mertensiana Lindley is listed, which Gordon calls the “California Hemlock Spruce,” with synonyms Abies heterophylla Rafinesque, Abies taxifolia Jeffrey, Canadensis taxifolia Gordon, Pinus heterophylla Endlicher, Pinus Mertensiana Bongard and Picea Mertensiana French Gardens, but I don't know what publication is French Gardens. Gordon says of the Hemlock Spruce: “It is found in the Oregon and Northern California, where it constitutes one half of the timber in the neighbourhood.” I wonder who fed Gordon that notion? He sums up: “It is quite hardy, and very much resembles, in general appearance, the Hemlock Spruce.” What? It resembles itself? Today we call it the “Mountain hemlock” while its specific epithet mertensiana refers to Karl Heinrich Mertens (1796-1830), a German botanist who collected the first specimens while on a Russian expedition between 1826-1829.

Tsuga mertensiana 'Bump's Blue'

Tsuga mertensiana at Mount Baker

One of the challenges of the book is to figure out what species Gordon is describing, especially with Abies Pattonii Jeffrey, or “Patton's Giant California Fir,” with synonyms Abies gracilis Hort., Abies trigona Rafinesque, Abies Hookeriana Murray and Picea Californica Carriere. Gordon relates: “It is quite hardy, and has been named by Jeffrey, in compliment to Mr. Patton, of the Cairnies, in Scotland, a gentleman much interested in conifers.” If you google Abies Pattoniana one site gives you Edward James Ravenscroft's The Pinetum Britannicum (1863) where the name Abiea [sic] Hookeriana is used as a synonym. The hand colored lithograph depicts Tsuga mertensiana, or something close to it. Some botanists list a Tsuga mertensiana subsp. mertensiana var. jeffreyi (Henry) Schneider, once considered a hybrid (x jeffreyi) with Tsuga heterophylla, but never verified, so maybe the variety is what Gordon is describing. Elsewhere he says Abies Pattonii was “first discovered by Lewis and Clark while exploring the sources of the Missuri River...,” and indeed T. mertensiana ranges as far east as western Montana. Later: “Mr. Jeffrey, who again discovered it on the Mount Baker range, in Northern California, describes it as a noble tree...” I know of no Mount Baker range in northern California, but Tsuga mertensiana does occur at Mount Baker in northern Washington.

Picea jezoensis

Strangely the “Douglas Fir,” called Abies Douglasii Lindley is sandwiched in the hemlock section, and so too is Abies jezoensis Siebold which Endlicher calls Pinus Jezoensis and Carrier calls Picea Jezoensis like we do today. As far as the spruce is concerned, Gordon says: “Much confusion seems to exist in books respecting this species, as to whether it is a spruce or silver fir...” Again, I wonder how the fully revised second edition deals with the confusion.

Tsuga sieboldii

Tsuga diversifolia

Abies Tsuga Siebold is synonymous with Pinus Tsuga Antoine, Pinus Araragi Siebold and Tsuga Sieboldii Carriere according to The Pinetum. It is described as “a dwarf tree, growing from 20 to 30 feet high, with the appearance and habit of Abies [Tsuga] Canadensis...” Gordon ends with “This sort is not yet introduced into England.” Well, obviously not since Tsuga Siebold and Tsuga canadensis are hugely different. Besides, Gordon says the Abies Tsuga Siebold is native to the northern provinces of Japan, “on the mountains of Matsmai and Dewa...,” so he is probably referring to the “northern Japanese hemlock,” Tsuga diversifolia, not the “southern Japanese hemlock,” Tsuga sieboldii. T. diversifolia is the more hardy of the two and is native to higher elevations. Dewa Province (Dewa no kuni) was a province comprising modern-day Yamagata and Akita Prefectures. The Three Mountains of Dewa (Dewa Sanzan) are holy to the Japanese Shinto religion, and are famous as having the oldest history of mountain worship in Japan (since 593 A.D.).

Cunninghamia lanceolata

Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca'

Cunninghamia was “Named by Dr. Brown in compliment to Mr. James Cunningham, who first discovered the plant in China.” Followed by: “A small tree, native of China and Japan.” Anyway Cunninghamia lanceolata is not so small, and it is a prized timber tree in China, known as “China fir.” Maybe the fossil record shows that it was once native to Japan, I don't know, but in 1858 it wasn't. Later Gordon reveals that Cunninghamia is “cultivated in Japan,” so maybe that is what he means by “native.” Gordon calls it Cunninghamia Sinensis R. Brown, with synonyms Cunninghamia lanceolata Van Houtte, Belis jaculifolia Salisbury, Pinus lanceolata Lambert, Araucaria lanceolata Hort. and others. There's even mention of 'Glauca' where “This variety differs from the species in having its leaves on the branchlets of a glaucous color,” which I guess is the same clone as what I have planted in the Flora Wonder Arboretum.

Xanthocyparis nootkatensis

Gordon lists a number of Cupressus species and calls them “The True Cypresses.” Cupressus Nutkaensis Lambert is the “Nootka Sound Cypress,” but one synonym is Chamaecyparis Nutkaensis Spach. It has also been known as Cupressus Americana Trautvetter, Thuja excelsa Bongard, Thuiopsis Borealis Fischer and Abies aromatica Rafinesque. I chuckle at the aromatica name because, believe me, I have cut over 10,000 scions in my career of what we now call Xanthocyparis nootkatensis and I would describe the aroma as that of cat piss.

Thujopsis dolabrata

One synonym for “Cupressus Nutkaensis” is Thuiopsis Borealis, but Gordon also lists Thuiopsis dolabrata Siebold which is “A majestic evergreen tree, found in moist situations in Japan.” It was known to Thunberg as Thuja dolabrata and to Spach as Platycladus dolabrata, and goes by the common name of “Hatchet-leaved Arbor-Vitae.” Gordon adds: “Professor Thunberg says in the countries [sic] of 'Oygawa' and 'Fakonia' it is plentiful along the high roads, particularly on the hill sides, and that it is of vast height and dimensions, and the most beautiful of all evergreen trees,” and that “It no doubt will prove hardy in England.” The Oygawa reference is probably Ogawa (“small river”) but I don't have a clue where Fakonia is located. Ogawa is a small village in Nagano Prefecture with a 2016 population of 2,634 souls, and it is listed as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan by a nonprofit organization that promotes the protection of Japanese rural heritage. Nagano is a mountainous, landlocked prefecture in the center of Honshu Island, and it was the site of the Olympic Winter Games in 1998.

Calocedrus decurrens

Linnaeus named the Thuja genus, and Gordon commonly calls it “The American Arbor Vitae,” with the statement: “All large evergreen trees or bushes, found in North America and California.” North America and California, I find that amusing. When he lists Thuja gigantea Nuttall, Gordon calls that one the “Gigantic Arbor Vitae.” Hmm...what species is he referring to? Thuja Craigiana Jeffrey doesn't help nor does Abies microphylla Rafinesque as synonyms. Ah! – Libocedrus decurrens Torrey does the trick for what we now call Calocedrus decurrens, and our common name today is “Incense cedar.” Gordon calls it a “noble evergreen tree” and “It is found plentiful along the banks of the Columbia River, and at Nootka Sound...” Well, I know you won't find any at Nootka Sound especially since it prefers drier conditions. Now the aromatic wood is used for cedar chests and also for making pencils. The largest known tree is located in the Umpqua National Forest in Oregon, and stands 229 feet (69.8m) tall with nearly a 6 foot diameter. The genus name is from Greek kalos meaning “beautiful' and cedrus meaning “cedar tree.” Torrey's name of Libocedrus was from Greek liboi for “tears” due to the resinous nature of the tree. Funny then that Gordon says: “Timber, white and tough, but rather porous, and with but little resin in it.”

Thuja plicata

Thuja menziesii Douglas is “Menzies Arbor Vitae” with synonyms of Thuja gigantea Hooker, Thuja Lobbii Hort., Thuja Lobbiana Hort., and fortunately Thuja plicata Lambert. It was found by Douglas “on the North-west coast of America and California...” Actually California became the 31^st state of the Union in 1850 but apparently Gordon didn't get the news. Mexico had ceded California to the US in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe, back when it was a region of mission towns with a total population of about 7,300. Not at all did the Mexican diplomats know what gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill just nine days before they signed the peace treaty.

Thuja occidentalis 'Pendula'

Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'

Linnaeus named Thuja Occidentalis, the “American Arbor Vitae,” but surprisingly a synonym is Thuja Siberica Linnaeus. What? It was also called Thuja Theophrasti Bauhin, Thuja obtusa Moench, Thuja odorata Marsh and Cupressus Arbor Vitae Targioni-Tozzetti. Gordon says that the species is “found in most parts of North America” which is not true, although it does have a rather large range. T. occidentalis is related to the Thuja plicata species, though the former doesn't get as large. The largest known specimen is only 112 feet (34 m) tall in Michigan, but some specimens in southern Ontario, Canada have been dated over 1,650 years old, which makes them the oldest trees in Eastern North America.

Pinus pinaster

Pinus Pinaster is the “Star” or “Cluster Pine.” It is a species from the Mediterranean Basin, yet it carries synonyms such as Pinus Massoniana Lambert which is native to China. It's also named Pinus Nepalensis Royale, Pinus Japonica Loudon, Pinus Nova-Hollandica Loddiges, Pinus Nova-Zealandica Loddiges and more. Gordon explains: “It is also found (but no doubt introduced from Europe) in China, Japan, New Holland, New Zealand, and St. Helena, and even in the north of India, where Major Madden and other travellers detected it in Nepal, and gave it the names of P. Nepalensis and P. Latteri, but there is not the slightest difference between the European and Asiatic plants.” So basically Gordon is telling us that P. pinaster has been introduced around the world.

Pinus pinea

As for Pinus Pinea, the “Italian Stone Pine,” it too has travelled as some synonyms include Pinus Maderiensis Tenore, Pinus Pinea Chinensis Knight, Pinus Americana Hort., Pinus Sativa Bauhin and Pinus Pinea Arctica Hort. I don't understand the Arctica epithet though since it is only hardy to zone 8 (10 degrees F). Gordon lists some “varities” of P. pinea, such as P. Pinea fragilis Du Hamel for the “Thin-shelled Stone Pine” and P. Pinea Cretica Loudon from Crete “where it attains a larger size than the common Stone Pine.”

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Duke of Wellington

I'll finish Gordon's The Pinetum on a crabby note, for he lists Wellingtonia Lindley, “The Mammoth Tree,” named “in compliment to the late Duke of Wellington. A gigantic tree from California.” Gordon warns us that “It is tolerably hardy in favourable situations, but generally gets its foliage more or less browned in winter, and is much injured in severe ones.” I don't know, for Oregon has more brutal winters than anywhere in England and the “Wellingtonia” does fine at my nursery. Synonyms include Sequoia gigantea Endlicher, Washingtonia gigantea of the Americans, Americanus giganteus Hort. Amer. and Taxodii sp. Douglas. The last name is odd because David Douglas never set eyes upon Sequoiadendron giganteum. Gordon claims: “This magnificent evergreen tree was first discovered by Douglas in 1831...” Rong! Gordon furthermore claims that a Mammoth Tree grows to 363 feet in height when the largest measured today is 315' tall (95.80 m) in the Sequoia National Forest. The tallest in the United Kingdom is 190' (58 m).

Sequoiadendron giganteum at the Calaveras Grove

Oh well, The Pinetum was written only a few years after Sequoiadendron was officially discovered by Augustus T. Dowd at the Calaveras Grove in 1852, though the first reference to their existence occurred in 1833 in the diary of explorer J.K. Leonard whose route would have taken him through the Calaveras Grove. Of course Native Americans knew of the trees and named them variously as wawona, toos-pung-ish and hea-mi-withic. Sadly the first tree found by Dowd, christened the “Discovery Tree,” was felled in 1853.

Sequoyah

Stephan Endlicher

Of course it was J.D. Buchholz who argued for the separation into separate genera for Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum in 1939. Due to Josiah Whitneys's 1868 book The Yosemite Book it was presumed that the Sequoia name honored the Cherokee chief Sequoyah (1767-1843) who was famous for inventing a syllabary for his people. A 2012 study (Gary Lowe) suggested that it was not Sequoyah being honored, but rather the Austrian botanist Endlicher intended to use the Latin sequi meaning “to follow” since the number of seeds per cone fell in mathematical sequence with the four other genera in the suborder.* Gordon was right when he claimed the Giant Redwood to be 3,000-4,000 years old since today the oldest tree is 3,500 years old, and boy, some old-timer spent most of the day counting rings on a felled specimen.

*However Nancy Muleady-Mecham offers compelling evidence in 2017 that Endlicher was honoring Sequoyah in her publication Endlicher and Sequoia: Determination of the Etymological Origin of the Taxon Sequoia.

I had fun with Gordon's book, even though I couldn't always figure out what species he was describing. When quoting I stayed true to his spellings, his capitalizations and his use of tonnes of commas which, I, found, very, annoying. At the end of the book, after the index he writes The End, which is obvious since nothing follows.

Striking Strobili

Abies firma 'Halgren'

A strobilus (plural: strobili) on a conifer is a structure (containing spores – sporangia) which arranges itself along the stem. Generally it is the woody female strobili that are commonly called "cones," and that's because they often present themselves with cone-like shapes. Human members of the American Conifer Society are more likely to be identified with round heads, nevertheless they are often referred to as "coneheads."

Cathaya argyrophylla

Male strobili (microstrobili) can be fascinating – or lead to hay fever – and often they are very colorful in spring. Whap the branches of a Cupressus or Pinus and you can send out a cloud of pollen, but if you're not there the wind will do it for you. The female cones (megastrobili) contain the ovules, and when fertilized by the pollen they become seeds...which lodge themselves within the cone scales. Members of the pine family (Pinaceae) have developed imbricate scales, that is they overlap each other like shingles on a roof. The scales on a pine cone or true fir cone can be arranged in a spiraling pattern where each cone consists of a pair of spirals with each one ascending upwards in opposite directions. The number of steps will often match a pair of Fibonacci* numbers.

*The Fibonacci sequence starts like this: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21... and so on forever. Each number is the sum of the two numbers that precede it.

Abies koreana 'Silberlocke'

I suppose if I have favorite female strobili it is on Abies koreana, and I love to watch them develop throughout the year. If you expose your children to the beauty and order in nature by simply studying a cone they will be less likely to become drug addicts and welfare recipients in the future. It's not only the cones that are fascinating, but so too are the forms and foliage colors of the cultivars, and I have far more A. koreana selections in my nursery than with any other Abies species. A. k. 'Cis', 'Ice Breaker' and 'Silberlocke' have gained the coveted RHS's Award of Garden Merit. It was the famous plant explorer E.H. Wilson who first described the Korean native in 1920 after his type collection in 1917 on Jeju Island (then known as Quelpaert Island) located just below South Korea's mainland.

Abies concolor 'Sherwood Blue'

Abies concolor was so-named because the foliage looks the same throughout its Rocky Mountain range (concolor, hence "one color"). When it comes to cultivars, however, foliage can range from gray to gold to silver-blue. The latter is well-represented by the striking 'Sherwood Blue' developed by the late Andy Sherwood of Oregon. In the November photo above you can see how the cones disintegrate, where half the seed bracts have already fallen to the ground leaving only the "spindles." All of the Abies do this I think: all of the cones develop in one year, and at this point there are only a few left intact, one plant of which I visited today: Abies forrestii var. georgei, named for the famous plant collector, George Forrest of Scotland.

Abies pindrow

One of my favorites of the "true firs" is Abies pindrow with its deliciously soft green foliage. I must have 7 or 8 good-sized specimens in the collection, my start coming from the famous Otto Solburger Arboretum only 15 miles away form my nursery. S. passed away long ago before I could meet him but he was a Christmas tree grower who also collected conifers from around the world. His son was a logger, and after the old man passed Logger-man thought he would improve the collection with his chainsaw. A "Norway spruce" and the one-and-only Abies pindrow were vying for space; Egads! The latter was edited as the greasy-plaid-shirt son felt the spruce was the more attractive with its Christmas-tree-shape. In spite of my love for A. pindrow, I can't find anything good to say about its cones – they are small and narrow and difficult to spot in the dense foliage. So, the beautiful pindrow doesn't show off with cones, just like the women I find most attractive don't bother with much jewelry or other additional adornment.

Picea orientalis 'Skylands'

Picea orientalis 'Aureospicata'

Picea orientalis 'Lemon Drop'

The female strobili on Picea orientalis are long and narrow. Young purplish cones ooze with pitch before opening, then summer then bake to an amber-brown before dropping...intact, unlike the disintegrating Abies. We have two large P. o. 'Aureospicata' which drop thousands of cones. Not so many seeds germinate naturally – only about 50 per year – but now and then we'll find a 2-year seedling with golden new growth like its parent. One of these we christened 'Lemon Drop', but it is too new to fully assess. But most ornamental on the parents are the crimson-red male strobili, and though small they are prolific. With a name like P. orientalis you might assume that the species is native to the Far East, but in fact its range is in northern Turkey and the Caucasus, because in Roman times that was the far east (from Latin oriens, "the east," or "the rising sun.").

Picea orientalis and Picea abies

I also grow one straight-species of Picea orientalis, of seedling origin, and it is planted next to a seedling Picea abies, both of which were planted as "first" trees in my empty garden so I could produce some garden height. I am reminded of Rushforth's comment in Conifers (about P. orientalis), "It deserves much wider planting, and has the grace and charm* so palpably missing from Norway spruce."

*[Hey, we now have a rare moment on the first day of 2019 when the sun is out. The photo above depicts P. orientalis on the left and P. abies (the Norway spruce) on the right. I definitely prefer P. orientalis over P. abies as does Rushforth, but I wouldn't describe either species as possessing any particular "grace or charm." My opinion is: Don't rush forth too surely with subjective praise in your comprehensive conifer gazetteer which is purportedly "scientific."]

Picea torano

Bernhard Koehne

Picea polita is the "Tigertail spruce" native to central and southern Japan, except that now we're supposed to call it P. torano per Bernhard Koehne (1848-1918), a German (Polish) botanist and dendrologist. Torano (from Toran wo) means "tiger's tail" in Japanese – not that it resembles one – but because the needles are viciously sharp. The male strobili are an attractive purple-red, and appear in Oregon in May. The female strobili are plump and ornamental, cream-green and dripping with pitch when young, then ripening to brown by fall. We used to grow P. torano in the field, and the year following harvest the digging jolt caused the trees to cone heavily, even when relatively small, and that was a delight for the retail customer.

Picea glauca 'Mac Gold'

The prolific cone-set after digging occurs with other species as well, particularly with Picea glauca. P. g. 'McConnal's Gold, AKA 'Mac Gold', is a wonderfully neat, compact upright selection with golden new growth in spring. The yellow shoots contrast well with the older, dark green foliage, and best of all is that it can thrive in full sun in Oregon. An important horticultural service provided by Buchholz Nursery is that we allow all trees to be grown a full year in pots to recover after digging. This means the specimen will produce the best, vibrant yellow growth the following spring, so in a sense we "nurse" the tree for our customers so it can sell immediately when they receive it. This practice is more costly for us, but it certainly encourages future sales. 'Mac Gold' was found growing in 1985, and Joe Stupka of Pulaski, PA is credited with the discovery.

Picea smithiana

Picea smithiana is the "West Himalayan spruce," native to the area from Afghanistan to west Nepal. I was impressed with it in the wild – some 25 years ago – for tall, narrow crowns on old trees, although younger specimens in cultivation tend to be almost as wide as tall. It is a beautiful spruce with its semi-pendulous branches, similar but different from "Brewer's Weeping spruce," Picea breweriana. P. smithiana is only hardy to USDA zone 6 (-10 degrees F) so I couldn't sell it to much of the country, but the main reason I discontinued production was because it attracted a pest moth that killed the tops. Now I see only one specimen and it is planted on neighboring property that I leased years ago. I drive past it three or four times per day so in a sense I still "own" it even though I don't farm that ground anymore.

Picea smithiana 'Pakistan'

The common name of Picea smithiana is "Morinda spruce," and that name is derived for its name in Nepali which refers to the pitch that drips from its female strobili, known as "the honey of flowers." The specific epithet honors James Edwards Smith, the gardener at Hopetoun House estate outside Edinburgh, Scotland. He grew the first seed brought to Europe in 1818, and a tree planted in 1824 can still be seen today.

Sequoiadendron cone

The term "pine" suffices for most of the public who don't know, or don't want to know what distinguishes various coniferous genera. So too, then, with "pine cones." I had a war with the neighborhood bully when I was a kid, and his stupid mother defended the brat when I beaned him with a Sequoiadendron strobilus and halted his aggression. I was called before the school principal and ordered to stop throwing pine cones.

Pinus parviflora 'Cleary'

Pinus parviflora 'Bonnie Bergman'

Pinus parviflora 'Arnold Arboretum Dwarf'

Anyway, let's consider the strobili of the true pines (Pinus). P. parviflora dwarves such as 'Kinpo' tend to have small female cones while the faster-growing cultivars such as 'Cleary' and 'Glauca' will display larger cones. The selection 'Arnold Arboretum Dwarf' displays cream-white male strobili which will poof pollen into the air if you bump into it in May. The male strobili on 'Bonnie Bergman', however, are maroon in color. It is easy to overlook the male pollen's contribution to plant interest when so much else is going on in the garden in spring, so maybe I am a voyeuristic pervert since I'm attracted to all of the trees' sexual expressions, but probably the orgiastic prude should stay out of the garden altogether if he is afraid to encounter reproduction in progress. I enjoy the lurid riot – the Rite of Spring – and, as my 12-year-old recently said, "Well, I wouldn't be here if you didn't do that stuff."

Pinus jeffreyi 

Pinus jeffreyi is a three-needled pine tree from western North America, but sadly it is considered a minor player in the flora compared to its cousin Pinus ponderosa, the latter which is the most widely-spread species in America. I love the squiggly microstrobili which pursue the macrostrobili of P. jeffreyi to do their business. A casual hike in the mid-elevation of western mountains will reveal the earnest efforts of the micros, but I suppose some pollen falls to lower elevation to mix with the P. ponderosa; and why not?: it's like a Scotsman producing children with an English woman, and really there's nothing unsemenly about it.

Pinus coulteri

Thomas Coulter

Pinus coulteri is barely hardy for me in Oregon since its range is in central and southern California...to as far south as the north of Baja California. The male strobili possess no ornamental qualities – although they probably think of themselves as highly important – but the female participants are known to be the largest – not longest! – cones of the species: a single cone can weigh up to 5 lbs. (2.25 Kg). From a garden-ornamental point of view the Coulter pine is not very exciting and there are a lot of better choices for the landscape, but the massive cones make it worth planting where hardy (USDA zone 8). The specific name honors Thomas Coulter (1793-1843) who first collected the species. He was an Irish physician, botanist and explorer and it was the Scottish botanist David Don who bestowed the name.

Pinus attenuata

The cones of Pinus coulteri can persist on the tree for a number of years, but eventually they will fall intact, hence the "widow-maker" moniker, but I wonder if anyone really has been killed by a falling cone. Another pine with persistent cones, though not nearly as large, is Pinus attenuata, the "Knobcone pine." Its range is from southern Oregon to Baja California and it has the ability to thrive on poor soils. As with P. coulteri, P. attenuata has needles in fascicles of three. The strobili are often bunched at the branch, where maybe as many as six will gather. What is most fascinating is that the cones can remain closed for many years (up to 30) until a fire opens them and allows release of the seeds. P. attenuata might be found in a few arboreta in America and Europe, but there's absolutely no reason the scrappy species would be used in a landscape; still it's fun to drive old mountain roads in the evening and see the coned branches as silhouette in the dusky sky. The specific name is from Latin attenuatus for "pointed" in reference to the cone scales. It was first named by author George Gordon in The Pinetum (in 1858) as Pinus tuberculata, but I guess not "formally" enough, as it was changed to P. attenuata by John Lemmon in 1892 when he officially described it.

Cedrus deodara

Cedrus deodara 'Shalimar'

Deodar lumber

Cedrus deodara is the "Himalayan cedar" and it usually occurs between 5,000' to 10,000' in the foothills. I have begun a number of treks to higher elevations where one passes a solitary or a few old specimens at the trailhead, and I guess we're lucky they weren't cut down a century before. Perhaps they were spared for being "divine" because the Sanskrit name devadaru means "wood of the gods." (Deva = "god" and daru = "wood and tree"). Still, I have seen houses made from deodar wood and I also stayed on a houseboat in Srinagar, Kashmir built from the deodar wood. Female strobili are barrel-shaped and sit atop the branches, and on the same tree male flowers dangle like insect larvae with their cream-yellow color. On older specimens the male strobili can literally cover the ground.

Larix kaempferi 'Diana'

Larix kaempferi 'Wolterdingen'

J.G. Veitch

The "Japanese larch," Larix kaempferi (formerly L. leptolepis) is native to a small area of central Honshu, and it was introduced to England in 1861 by J.G. Veitch. There are a number of cultivars ranging from fast-growing upright trees to congested dwarves. 'Diana' was discovered in Germany in the 1970's growing in a reforested plantation, and it features gracefully contorted branches. 'Wolterdingen' is a bun with blue-green foliage that turns orange-yellow in autumn. It was found in 1970 in a park in Wolterdingen, Germany.

Larix kaempferi 'Paper Lanterns'

Don Howse

Larix kaempferi 'Paper Lanterns' is more dubious as a cultivar. It was selected in the 1980's by Edsal Wood of Oregon because the original seedling tended to cone heavily. I'm not sure if that characteristic is inherent in the plant or if the coning is culturally induced. Any conifer under stress, for example, is liable to produce a lot of cones. I saw the original at the arboretum of Porterhowse Farms, where owner Don Howse named and introduced it, and indeed it was loaded with strobili. It is no longer in production at my nursery because I can grow trees to 10' tall without a single cone, but I've never put one in the ground to see what happens. Maybe it's worth growing anyway for its narrow form, at least when young.

Pseudolarix amabilis

Pseudolarix amabilis in fall

Robert Fortune

More interesting for me than the Larix genus is Pseudolarix amabilis, a monotypic genus with male and female strobili borne on the same tree. It was introduced by Robert Fortune (of tea-stealing fame) in 1852 from eastern China. The specific epithet amabilis is Latin for "lovely" or "beautiful," and certainly the fresh spring foliage is most lush. As with the true larch, Pseudolarix is deciduous so the landscape is blessed with a clear golden-orange in autumn. I had never seen cones on Pseudolarix – and I suppose they would resemble those of Larix – until I walked past my original specimen in the Blue Forest one day and was shocked to find artichokes attached to the tree! I had missed noticing them all spring and summer, so my first encounter was when they had turned brown in autumn, and isn't horticulture fun?

The origin of the word strobulus is from Greek strobilos for "pine cone," or it can also mean a "whirlwind" or a "whirling dance." Seth and I have produced hundreds of Flora Wonder Blogs over the years, and I have characterized them before as "wandering narratives." But maybe more accurately they are "whirling dances" with Flora and I going round and around.