THE PINE FAMILY 181 



Steppes in Europe and Asia: of all the families in the vegetable 

 kingdom the Grasses occupy the largest area of the fertile parts 

 of the world- 



40. The Pine Family 



(Coniferae). 



This family belongs to a group of families (Gymnos perms), 

 quite distinct from the families we have described heretofore 

 [Angiosx>erms). The distinctive feature of the Gymnosperms is 

 in the seeds, which are not enclosed in an ovary, but are naked. 

 The Conifers are inhabitants of the temperate and cold latitudes. 

 Some of them are successfully planted on the high hills of India, 

 e.g., the Goa Cypress (Cupressus glaiica). 



Woods of Casuarina {Casiiarina equisetifolia) bear a striking 

 resemblance to the Pine forests of northern regions. The tree 

 does not, however, belong to the Gymnosperms, but to a distinct 

 family {(Jasiiarinece) of the Angiosperms, allied to the Urticacese. 

 It is leafless, the branchlets being green and cylindrical with 

 sheaths of scales at tlie nodes. " The branches, when gently swayed 

 by the wind, give out a sound like that of the sea on a beach, very 

 pleasing to the ears of exiled islanders." The flow^ers are dioecious, 

 sometimes monoecious. The tree is originally Australian, but now 

 extensively cultivated in many parts of India as a remunerative 

 fuel-tree. 



