22 HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES. 



dying off one by one, when the whole tree presents a very 

 unsightly appearance. The branches are somewhat drooping, 

 with upturned tips, the ovate lanceolate leaves stiff, leathery, 

 and sharply pointed, each about i inch long, by half that in 

 width, and bright green in colour. Seed-bearing cones 

 spherical, or nearly so, and 7 inches in diameter, while the 

 thickly arranged, bract-like appendages, each an inch long 

 and standing erect, impart to these a curious hedgehog-like 

 appearance. The male cones are cylindrical, fully 3 inches 

 long, by half that in diameter, and usually produced in quantity. 

 They frequently remain wholly or in part intact for several 

 years. 



ATHROTAXIS (Don). 



Flowers monoecious, occasionally dioecious, solitary ; males 

 in terminal spikes. 



Cones globular, with the scales spirally arranged. 



SeedSy from three to six under each scale, free, pendulous, 

 and winged. 



Leaves spiral, without petioles, scale formed. 



Evergreen trees of small growth, natives of Tasmania, and 

 remarkable for the jointed appearance of the shoots. 



Athrotaxiscupressosdes, Don. Tasmania. — When 

 seen growing under favourable conditions, this is a neat and 

 very distinct small-growing conifer, with thick and spirally 

 arranged coriaceous leaves, which are of an intense glossy 

 green colour. It delights in a cool and quiet situation ; and 

 the finest specimens I have seen were growing on a dampish 

 mossy bank in a forest break. It is a species that is well 

 worthy of culture, and should be included in every selection 

 of coniferous plants. 



A. laxifolaa, Hooker. {Synotzyms: — Athrotaxis Doni- 

 ana, hort.) Tasmania. — To a great extent this resembles the 

 latter species, but the foliage is less thickly arranged, or not 

 so closely appressed, longer and pointed, and the tree is of 



