The
usual size of the Laracio on the Troodos range is about fifty feet in
height, with a girth of six feet, but I have frequently seen specimens
of nine feet in girth, and about seventy to eighty feet in height.
The Pinus maritima has a lighter foliage and the branches are more
spreading, but the size is about the same as the Laricio. Both these
species are rich in tar and turpentine.
Cypress.--There are two varieties--the dwarf, which covers the
flat-topped limestone hills of the Carpas district, and the fragrant
species which grows upon the heights of Troodos and all that range which
extends to Poli-ton-Krysokhus.
The dwarf-cypress attains a height of about twenty feet, and is
exceedingly hard and durable. The fragrant species varies from thirty to
thirty-five feet, with a stem of six, to sometimes eight feet in
circumference. The wood is highly aromatic; and I have already described
it as resembling a mixture of sandal-wood and cedar. This tree is known
by the Cypriotes as kypresses, while the dwarf variety is known as the
"wild cypress," and is called by them "aoratu."
Plane (Platanus).--This tree is generally found in the ravines among the
mountains, on the borders of streams, and would grow to a large size,
but its straight young stems are much sought after by the natives for
various purposes, and it is seldom allowed a chance of arriving
unscathed at maturity.
