Our first division is made up of evergreens with narrow leaves, either linear, lanceolate, or awl-shaped. These are borne in a sheath in the case of the pines, and singly on the branch, either with a small filament of stem (the petiole) or attached directly, in the other trees of the pine family and in the California Nutmeg. In the cedar, juniper, and sequoia, which have awl-shaped leaves, they clothe the branchlet closely or overlap along it.

All these trees are cone-bearers except the California Nutmeg, which belongs to the Taxaceae, or yew-like trees, and bears a drupe, or fleshy berry. Our juniper also has a berry, but this latter is classified as a cone in its origin.

The cones of these trees are made up of woody scales, overlapping, except in the case of the cedar, and with two or more seeds under each of these scales. In most of the conifers the seed has a thin wing.

The California Nutmeg bears its staminate and its ovulate flowers on different trees. Our conifers usually bear the two kinds of flowers on different branches of the same tree. The staminate flowers produce a yellowish pollen, carried by the wind to the ovulate flowers, which are small, scaly catkins or conelike bodies, and develop into a woody cone bearing the fruit or seed.

CHART THREE
Summary of Distinguishing* Characteristics of Yosemite Gymnosperms^†

FOLIAGE	TREE	BARK	CONE	COMMENT	ZONE

Needles in sheath	Pines		Matures second autumn

One; 1 1/2-2 inches; pale yellow-green	Single-Leaf Pine or Piñon	Thin, brown	2 1/2-3 inches	Found only in Pate Valley in Yosemite National Park; common along desert east of Sierra Nevada Range	Transition
Two; 1 1/2-3 inches; yellow-green	Lodgepole Pine or Tamarack Pine	Thin, grayish-brown, scaly	1-1 3/4 inches	Many dead branches usually. Not true Tamarack	Canadian
Three; 8-18 inches; gray-green	Digger Pine	Dark gray, roughened	6-10 inches	At 15-30 feet, trunk often splits into branches with vertical thrust	Upper Sonoran
7-11 inches; yellow-green	Ponderosa or Western Yellow Pine	Tawny, with large plates of irregular scales, deep furrows between them	2 1/2-5 1/2 inches; ovate or oval, tapering	Most common pine on Valley floor; Transition Zone sometimes known as Yellow Pine Belt. Slender spire	Transition
7-11 inches; blue-green	Jeffrey Pine	Darker, ridges closer than Yellow Pine	4-11 inches; beehive shape	Crown more flattened than Yellow Pine, of which it is probably a variation	Canadian
3-5 inches	Knobcone Pine	Gray, thin	3-6 inches; stays on tree	Two trees at El Portal. Cones usually opened by forest fire to scatter seeds	Upper Sonoran

Needles in sheath	White Pines		Matures second autumn

Five; 2-4 inches; blue-green	Sugar Pine	Brown, tinged with red; fissured up and down the tree	12-20 inches; longest of any of the pines	Distinctive silhouette, with one or two large branches flung wide. Sugar from wounds in bark	Transition
1-1 1/2 inches; dark yellow-green	White-Bark Pine	Darkish-gray in old trees, ashen to silver in young	1-4 inches; ovoid shape; purplish tinge	Often a group of upright stems branching from a short main trunk to form rounded crown; at timber line often prostate, matted	Hudsonian

Single shorter needles attached to branch direct or with leaf-stem			Matures first autumn

1/2-1 inch; blue-green all around twig; declined leaf-stem	Mountain Hemlock	Dark reddish-brown; rough ridges with mottled scales	1 1/2-3 1/2 inches long; pendulous	Branches and leader at top slender, drooping; grows in moist, shaded situations	Hudsonian
1/2-1 1/2 inches; dark green, short leaf-stem; needles either around twig or somewhat flattened; needle flat, comparatively blunt	Douglas Fir	Thick, deep, dull furrows, brown outside; red, then white inside	1 3/4-3 1/2 inches; bracts with trident thrust over scales; pendent	Foliage plumy; drooping effect of branches; massive tree	Transition
1-2 1/2 inches; yellow-green; flat; short, twisted petiole; channel above, midrib below, two whitish bands along side	White Fir	Dark gray with ashen tinge on old trees; rough, soft, fissured; palish inside	2-5 1/2 inches; erect on branches of crown, scales fall, axis remains on tree	Foliage in fan-like sprays; twisted petiole gives flat effect on lower branches; needles shorter, curve upward from both sides on higher branches. Note lower branches to compare needles with Red Fir	Transition thrusting into Canadian
Needle sessile on branch; 3/4-1 1/2 inches; blue-green; four-sided rather than flat	Red Fir	Reddish-brown; rough	4-8 inches; erect on branches of crown, scales, fall, axis remains on tree	Foliage in flattened layers of fan-like sprays, somewhat more regular than White Fir; shorter needles, more strongly curved than White Fir, especially on lower branches	Canadian

Leaves linear, narrow, bristle-tipped			Matures first autumn

Rigid, on twisted petiole; leaves making flat spray; two long grooves in them; dark green, shiny above; yellowish-green below	California Nutmeg	Bark finely checked; ashen to brown	1 1/2-2 1/2 inches; fruit a drupe, olive-like; one-seeded; green to purplish color; flesh resinous	Found only in region Arch Rock to Cascades; attractive tree 20 to 75 feeds to height; belongs to yew family; leaves pungent when bruised	Transition (upper)

Leaves short, scale-like or awl-shaped; pointed

Leaves blue-green, awl-shaped, closely overlapping along stem,, tips free	Giant Sequoia	Reddish bark, often 1-2 feet thick in old trees; fibrous	1-2 1/2 inches; ovoid; ripe second autumn	Largest trees in world, rounded crown; none on Valley floor except where planted	Transition (upper)
Leaves yellow-green, scale-like, arranged in pairs adherent to twig; each pair at right angles to preceding, tip turning out slightly in pointed effect; flat sprays	Incense Cedar	Reddish-brown bark, stringy; not so thick or lustrous as Big Tree	3/4-1 inch long; three pairs of scales; urn-shaped while green; later like upper part of fleur-de-lis	Large branches at right angles, then curving up, often give lyre effect, or young trees in open places form symmetrical pyramids almost from ground up	Transition
Short, blue-green, scale-like leaves clasp stem in whorls of threes, clothing stem tightly; sometimes points turn out, especially on lower part of tree	Sierra Juniper	Pale brown; easily shredded	Fruit a small, blue-black drupe or berry, usually two-seeded	Clings to rocky ledges; usually gnarled and weather-beaten, but occasionally symmetrical tree of forty or fifty feet	Canadian venturing well into Hudsonian

* It must be borne in mind that there are always many variations from the types; the descriptions express averages and apply as tendencies, not as hard and fast rules. In particular, colorings are relative rather than absolute.

† Ours all evergreens, practically all conifers; all narrow leaves, either linear, awl- or scale-shaped

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