CHAP. XI.] CUPULIFERiE. 203 



are each furnished with bracts, and have two 

 lonof stiofmas. Both kinds of flowers are so 

 small as not to be seen without a microscope. 

 The fruit is covered with fine hair. The 

 globular catkins retain the bracts, and these 

 remain on after the seed has fallen, giving the 

 tree a very singular appearance even in winter. 

 The Occidental Plane (P. occidentalis) differs 

 principally from the preceding species in the 

 leaves being more downy beneath ; the buds 

 are also so downy that the tree in America is 

 called the Cotton-tree. Both kinds are remark- 

 able for the manner in which the bark becomes 

 detached from the main trunk and peels off. 



THE GENUS LIQUIDAMBAR. 



The common Liquid ambar {L. styraciflua) is 

 remarkable for the beautiful crimson which its 

 maple-like leaves take in autumn. The male 

 flowers are on an upright catkin, and the female 

 ones in a globular one, like the Planes. When 

 the fruit is ripe, the numerous capsules that 

 surround the globular catkin burst, and the 

 seeds, which are winged, are scattered by the 

 wind. 



THE ORDER MYRICACE^. 



The principal genera are Myrica, the Sweet 

 Gale ; Comptonia, a curious shrub with fern- 



