10 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 



families, the Pine (Pinaceiv) and Yew (Taxacefv). It will l)e remem- 

 bered that the other orders of Gymnosperms, namely the Cycadales, 

 Gnetales and Ginkooules consisted each of a sins^le family. 



PiNACJ^AE, the Pine Family. These are di.stinjyuished maiiilv hv 

 the fruit, which is a true cone with distinct scales, although these are 

 sometimes coherent into a structure closely simuiatinor a berry, as in 

 the junipers. The ovules are enclosed and rii)en within these scales. 

 The Pine family is itself divisible into four well-marked tribes, which 

 those familiar with different types of our native and cultivated conifers 

 will have no dithculty in recognizing. These are, the Araucaruur, or 

 Norfolk Island pines: the Abletlnea', including ])ines, firs, spruces and 

 hemlocks; the Tn.rod'irn-^ containing the Secpioias and bald cypresses ; 

 and the C<ipre)is'ni<'(i<'^ with the true cypresses and junipers. 



Tribe Araucarieae. — Two genera, AyatJils^ with 4 species, natives 

 of Australia and Malaysia: Ai'tuKyirin^ with 10 s})ecies, natives of 

 South America and Australasia. The former genus consists of the 

 kauri-pines, well known to Australian lumbei'men. A (iii><ii-a1ix yields 

 dammar resin or gum dammar, an imi)ortant article of coiumerce. 

 Araucaria is familiar from the dwarf cultivated specimens seen in 

 florists' windows : the foliai>e is of a rich dark jji-een hue and is 

 arranged symmetrically in horizontal whorls, one above another. In 

 their native habitat these trees attain lofty proportions. 



Tribe Abietineae. — Fight genera, of which the most important 

 are, Pimis^ the pine, with 70 species of wide distribution ; Ccdrxn^ the 

 cedar of Lebanon, with 3 Asiatic and African species ; Lari.v^ the 

 larch, with 8 species; Plcea, the spruce, with 12 species, also widely 

 distributed; Tsiiga, the hemlock, with 6 species ; and Abiex^ the fir, 

 with about 20. This group includes most of the valuable coniferous 

 timber trees. The wood is of every variety, from the familiar soft 

 white pine to the hard and tough cedar. The genera from which the 

 most useful woods are secured are Piuiis^ Picea^ Abies and Ccdrus. 

 Turpentine, a substance now constantly used for various purposes in 

 the arts, is the product of various pines, notably in the United States 

 of the long-leaved pine (P. ^vrt7'/s//'/.s); in Europe of the Scotch pine 

 {P. sylvestris) and the Corsican pine (P. Lariclo). Various resins are 

 obtained from other genera of the group, the well known spruce gum, 

 which is now practically supplanted in the trade by artificial prepara- 

 tions, being a familiar example. Terebinth, a balsamic resin, is de- 

 rived from several firs and pines; it is to this that the delightful frag- 



