Closed-cone coniferous forests are another unique California community occurring in patches along the coast from Humboldt to Santa Barbara County. The name of this community derives from the fact that the seed-bearing cones remain closed for several years, a reproductive adaptation that ensures survival. Only age, excessive hot weather, or fire opens them. The fossil record indicates that closed-cone forests were once wide-spread but are now remnants on their way to natural extinction. Gnarled and slanted stands of pine and cypress form natural windbreaks along fog-shrouded headlands. Some of the most eerily beautiful of these stands are found along the Monterey Peninsula. In more protected areas, trees of these same species are more symmetrical, forming conical or umbrella-like shapes. Bishop pine, Pinus muricata; beach pine, P. contorta; and Monterey pine, P. radiata, are easily identified by the characteristic number of needles per sheath; one, two, and three respectively. Gowen cypress, Cupressus goveniana, and Monterey cypress, C. macrocarpa, are distinguished by their distinctive scale-like leaves and fragrant foliage.
Miniature closed-cone forests, called pygmy forests, occur in Mendocino County. Extremely hard, acidic soils have stunted the growth of mature trees, some of which are only one to two feet tall. Dwarfed endemic species are the Mendocino or pygmy cypress, Cupressus pygmaea, and the Bolander pine, Pinus contorta bolanderi.
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