176 YEW 



seed. The use of the word "Fruit" for the mature cone is 

 conventional only, since there can be no true fruit where 

 there is no true ovary.] 



[For (B) A. FEMALE FLOWER RESEMBLING A BUD ; REDUCED 



see p. 178.] TQ A SINGLE APPARENTLY TERMINAL, NAKED 



OVULE, SURROUNDED AT ITS BASE BY A RING- 

 LIKE ARIL AND A FEW SPIRAL SCALES; MALE 

 FLOWER WITH ABOUT 6 8 PELTATE STAMENS 

 GROUPED INTO A HEAD, ON A SHORT STALK SUR- 

 ROUNDED BELOW BY THREE OR FOUR SPIRAL 

 SERIES OF SCALES. " FRUIT " A HARD NUT- LIKE 

 OLIVE SEED, INVESTED BY THE CRIMSON FLESHY 

 ARILLUS. 



Taxus baccata, L. Yew (Fig. 46). Bushy tree or 

 shrub, dioecious or, abnormally, monoecious. 



Male flowers surrounded at the base with brownish 

 scarious convex scales, crowded on the lower side of shoots 

 of the previous year ; each about 6 (5 8) mm. long, and 

 composed of an axis bearing rounded pentagonal or hexa- 

 gonal peltate scales, each with about 5 6 (3 8) pollen- 

 sacs, yellow. Pollen devoid of air-sacs, irregularly tetra- 

 hedral, rounded, yellowish-white, finely and densely 

 papillate, 25 30 /z, in diameter. 



Female flowers minute, green, and bud-like, isolated or 

 few together on the lower side of the previous year's 

 shoots ; about 5 6 mm. long. 



So-called "Berry," sub-sessile, with a few (about 6) 

 basal scales, 8 10 or 12 mm. long; cup-like arillus, fleshy 

 and mucilaginous, scarlet-red or crimson and translucent. 

 Seed ovoid, hard, olive or violet, and protruding. The 

 whole superficially resembling an acorn in its cup. 



There is no other plant with a similar naked arillate 

 seed. 



