226 



CUPRESSINE^. 



[part I. 



whorls, three in each, round the branches. The 

 male and female flowers are generally on different 

 plants, but sometimes on the same. The male 

 catkins are sometimes at the end of the shoots, 

 but generally they spring from the axils of the 

 leaves. The pollen cases vary from three to 

 six, and they are attached to the back of each 

 scale, which may be called the stamen (see a in 

 Jig. 100). Tlie female catkin, when young, 



resembles a very 

 small bud, and 

 consists of three 

 fleshy ovaries, 

 almost hidden 

 by the thick 

 scales at their 

 base. These 

 ovaries grow 

 together, and 

 soon present 

 the appearance 



Fig. 100.— JuNrpER (Juniperus communis). shown,but mag- 

 nified, at c. As they ripen, they rise out of the 

 scales and become the fleshy strobile, b; and 

 finally the spongy berry shown of its natural size 

 at d, containing three seeds or nuts, each of which 

 is flat on one side, fl and angular on the other, e, 

 with five glandular indentations at its base. 

 The berries are first green, but they afterwards 



