70 TAXODIACEAE 



whole tree, terminal on the branchlets, oblong, 6 mm. long; the ovulate oblong, consisting 

 of 25-40 yeJlow-keeled scales, each bearing i-l ovules. Cones broadly oblong, 5-8 cm. long, 

 reddish brown, their scales opening but little when the seeds are discharged, deeply grooved 

 at the apex and often furnished with a reflexed bristle, seeds light brown, about 8 mm. 

 long, linear-lanceolate, flattened and surrounded by wings a little broader than the body and 

 notched at the apex. 



Western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in the great forest belt, Arid Transition Zone; ranging from the 

 Middle Fork of the American River to the head of Deer Creek, Tulare County. In the southern part of 

 the range, in the basins of the Kings, Kern, and Tule Rivers, it forms e.xtensive groves, but north of Kings 

 River the groves are small and widely separated. There is much confusion as to the proper specific name, 

 but it seems best to retain the well established name gigantea. Type locality: Calaveras Grove. Discovered 

 by Mr. A. T. Dowd, a hunter of Murphy's Camp, in 1853, and made known to science by Wm. Lobb, who 

 sent specimens to Lindley. 



The following are the principal groves north of Kings River: 



(1) North Grove: Near the southern boundary of Placer County on a tributary of the Middle Fork of 

 the American River, about 10 miles east of Michigan Bluff; 6 trees; altitude 5100 ft. 



(2) Calaveras Grove: In Calaveras County, on the divide at the head of Moran and San Antonio Creeks, 

 at Big Trees Post Office; about 50 trees; altitude 4600 ft. This was the first discovered (1853). 



(3) Stanislaus Grove: In Tuolumne County, 6 miles southeast of the Calaveras Grove; about 1380 

 trees; altitude 5000 ft. 



(4) Tuolumne Grove: Near the south boundary of Tuolumne County in the Yosemite National Park 

 on the Coullerville and Yosemite road, IK' miles from Crane Flat; about 40 trees; also a few single trees 

 between these and the Merced River. 



(5) Merced Grove: A few miles southwest of the Tuolumne Grove on the headwaters of the Merced 

 River on the Coullerville road; contains 33 trees. 



(6) Mariposa Grove: In the Yosemite National Park 16 miles south of the Yosemite Valley. It com- 

 prises two groves, the upper with 365 trees and the lower with 182 trees. The largest tree is the Grizzly 

 Giant, 64 feet 3 inches in circumference, 11 feet from the ground. 



(7) Fresno Grove: About 10 miles southwest of the Mariposa Grove, between Big Creek and Fresno 

 River; contains about 500 trees. 



(8) Dinky Grove: Fourteen miles east of Pine Ridge, Fresno County^ on Dinky Creek, a branch of 

 Kings RTver; contains about 75 trees. This grove is also called McKinley Grove, and is the most southerly 

 of the isolated groves. 



Family 4. CUPRESSACEAE. 



Cypress Family. 



Monoecious or dioecious trees or shrubs, with opposite or whorled scale-like (or 

 rarely linear) leaves, decurrent and thickly clothing" the branchlets, or jointed at 

 base (in Junipcrns). Flowers small, terminal on the branchlets or (in Juniperus) 

 axillary; stamens with several pollen-sacs attached to the lower half of the thin, 

 shield-like connective ; ovuliferous scales, several opposite or whorled. bearing" at 

 base 1 to many erect ovules. Cones woody or (in Junipenis and Sabina) fleshy, 

 the scales shield-shape or imbricated; seeds often angled or winged; cotyledons 

 2 or more. 



A family of about 10 genera widely distributed over both hemispheres. 



Fruit a woody cone; leaves scale-like, decussate. 



Cones and their scales oblong, maturing the first year; seeds 2 to each scale. 



Cone-scales 6, the middle pair only fertile; leaves appearing in whorls of four. 1. Libocedrus. 



Cone-scales 8-12; leaves obviously in pairs. 2. Thuya. 



Cones subglobose, their scales shield- or wedge-shaped. 



Cones maturing the second year; seeds many to each scale. 3. Cufressus. 



Cones maturing the first year; seeds few to each scale. 4. Chaniaecyparis. 



Fruit berry-like, formed by the coalition of the scales; ovules 1 or 2. 



Leaves decurrent on the branchlets, usually scale-like; flowers terminal. 5. Sabina. 



Leaves jointed at base, not decurrent on the branchlets, awl-shaped; flowers axillary. 6. Jitniperus. 



1. LIBOCEDRUS Endl. Syn. Conif. 42. 1847. 



Aromatic evergreen forest tre-es, with naked buds, flattened branchlets, thin, fibrous 

 bark, and fragrant, straight-grained, durable wood. Leaves scale-like, decurrent, 4-ranked, 

 .strongly compressed and keeled, dying and becoming woody before falling. Flowers 

 monoecious, solitary, and terminal; the staminate oblong, of 12-16 subpeltate, broadly ovate- 

 pointed scales, bearing usually 4 pollen-sacs ; the ovulate oblong, of 6 acuminate scales, the 

 2 upper pairs much larger than the lower, only the middle pair ovuliferous. Fruit an ob- 

 long cone maturing the first year, the lowest pair of scales ovate, reflexed, the midde pair 

 much larger, oblong, the upper pair united. Seeds 2 to each scale, erect, with 2 unequal 

 wings, the larger nearly as long as the scale; cotyledons 2. [Name Greek, libas and 

 Cedrus, referring to the resinous character.] 



Eight species distributed along the Pacific Coast of both North and South America, also in New Zealand, 

 China, and Formosa. Type species, Libocedrus doniana Endl. 



