2+4 SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERING PLANTS. 



while other orders, such as those included in the 

 Catkin-bearing group, have very few genera, even two 

 or one, as the Myri'ca. The interpretation accepted by 

 botanists is that an order with one, two, or very 

 few members is a very ancient one, and the few that 

 remain are the last relics of a long-lost family, whereas 

 when there are many in an order, such a family is 

 of a much more modern origin. Indeed, it seems 

 probable that Myri'ca and Casuari'na, the " beef- 

 woods " of Australia, may represent some of the very 

 earliest plants luhich j^ossesscd instils, for the next 

 families to be considered, the " Gymnosperms," have 

 no pistil at all. 



GYMNOSPERMS. 



This peculiar group of plants contains only 3 

 orders : Gnetacecv, with 3 genera, one of which is the 

 extraordinary plant Wehuit'schia, so called after its 

 discoverer. Dr. Welwitsch, only found in Damaraland, 

 near Waalvisch Bay, and northwards to Cape Negro ; 

 Cycadaceoc, with 9 genera, of which two, JEncephalar'tos, 

 the " Kaffir-bread," and Stange'ria, occur in the south- 

 east sub-tropical part of South Africa. The third order 

 is Coniferw, a very large one having some 300 species 

 of 32 genera in 6 tribes. Two genera only occur in 

 South Africa, viz. Podocar'pus, the " Yellow-wood," 

 and GaVlitris (also called Widdringto'nia), known as 

 the " Cedars " of the Cedarberg Mountains. 



