THE FERTILISATION OF THE LARCH. 79 



The bright coloration is so marked that if one had no other 

 evidence before them they would be forced to conclude that the 

 larch was adapted for insect-fertilisation. But according to 

 Hermann Muller and other authorities, the coniferse, and, 

 indeed, all gymnospermous phanerogams, are wind-fertilised. The 

 gymnosperms, or naked-seeded plants, appear earlier in the 

 geological strata, and are believed to represent a more primitive 

 type than ordinary angiosperms. They stand midway as regards 

 organisation between ferns and flowering plants, and although 

 wind-fertilisation is less effectual and much less economical than 

 insect-fertilisation, still it is just what we should expect on the 

 supposition that these naked-seeded plants represent an early type 

 of vegetation. It is deserving of notice, however, that some of 

 the gymnosperms, yew and juniper for example, have coloured 

 fruits adapted for dispersion through the agency of birds; it is 

 quite conceivable, therefore, that some members of the group may 

 also have attained to insect-fertilisation. With a view to deter- 

 mine whether or not this was the case with the larch, last season 

 I examined many specimens of the male and female cones; this 

 year, possibly owing to the lateness of the spring, I have not been 

 able to obtain any as yet. Although not indigenous, the larch is 

 now a common tree in this country. It flowers earlier in the 

 season than the Scotch fir (Pimis sylvestris), from which it is also 

 distinguished by its deciduous foliage. The flowers are diclinous, 

 and the same tree bears both male and female flowers (monoecious). 

 The female cone, about an inch in length, is cylindrical in 

 form, consisting of loosely imbricated bracts. These bracts are 

 narrow strap-shaped or spathulate, with an acuminate apex, and 

 of a colour varying from bright pink to deep crimson. In the 

 axil of each bract is a semi-circular scale which at the period of 

 fertilisation is very small. After a time this scale enlarges, 

 becomes woody, and ultimately outgrows the bract, which persists 

 in a withered condition under the woody scale of the mature cone. 

 In the axil of each scale are two inverted ovules. The apex of 

 each ovule expands into what resembles a capitate stigma bristling 

 with somewhat elongated papillae. At the flowering period, 

 before the scales have begun to enlarge, these stigma-like expan- 

 sions protrude beyond the sides of the scale, and here and there 

 are just visible between the narrow bracts. The female cones 



