The foliage is of the same peculiar
gray-green color as that of the Nut Pine, and is worn about as loosely,
so that the body of the tree is scarcely obscured by it.
[Illustration: THE GROVE FORM. THE ISOLATED FORM (PINUS TUBERCULATA).]
At the age of seven or eight years it begins to bear cones, not on
branches, but on the main axis, and, as they never fall off, the trunk
is soon picturesquely dotted with them. The branches also become
fruitful after they attain sufficient size. The average size of the
older trees is about thirty or forty feet in height, and twelve to
fourteen inches in diameter. The cones are about four inches long,
exceedingly hard, and covered with a sort of silicious varnish and gum,
rendering them impervious to moisture, evidently with a view to the
careful preservation of the seeds.
No other conifer in the range is so closely restricted to special
localities. It is usually found apart, standing deep in chaparral on
sunny hill-and canon-sides where there is but little depth of soil, and,
where found at all, it is quite plentiful; but the ordinary traveler,
following carriage-roads and trails, may ascend the range many times
without meeting it.
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