186 PLANT-LIFE 



flowers grow on the lower surface of the twigs in the 

 axils of leaves formed a year prior to their appearance. 

 The male flowers have scales at their bases, and each 

 flower produces about ten stamens; the number of 

 pollen-sacs borne by a single stamen varies from five 

 to nine. The female flower of the Yew is reduced to 

 a solitary ovule. After fertilization, and during the 

 ripening of the seed, the latter becomes invested in a 

 fleshy cup; this cup becomes red in colour when the 

 seed is mature. It is edible, but the seed itself is 

 poisonous. Birds eat the fleshy investment with 

 avidity, but reject the poisonous seeds, which they 

 assist in dispersing. The Yew is an undoubted Conifer 

 both in respect of its flowers and its foliage, but its 

 fruit is not a cone, in which regard it differs from such 

 cone-bearers as the Spruce Fir or the Larch. 



The Pinacece are the second family of Conifers; they 

 include all the more important species of the class. 

 There are two subfamilies, the Cwpressinece and the 

 Abietinece. In the former the leaves are arranged on 

 the branches either opposite to each other or in whorls, 

 and the ovules are erect. In the latter the leaves are 

 arranged alternately, and the ovules are generally 

 inverted. The Cupressinese are represented in Britain 

 by one genus with but one species, Juniperus communis, 

 the Common Juniper. This is a much branched ever- 

 green shrub ranging from 2 to 20 feet in height. The 

 leaves are in whorls of three; they are linear, of spread- 

 ing habit, about J inch long, and terminate in a prickly 

 point. A prostrate, dwarf variety with less prickly 

 leaves occurs on mountainous heights; it is named 

 Juniperus nana, but is not entitled to specific rank, as 



