158 CONIFEROUS TREES 



those on a specimen at Penrhyn Castle having 

 remained in position and quite intact for fifteen 

 years. The appearance presented by the annually 

 increasing cones is very singular and curious. The 

 cones never open unless the branch is killed or 

 injured by animals or fires. The seeds, which are 

 arranged like other conifers, are then distributed 

 to a considerable distance when they germinate 

 and grow. P. pungens has the same peculiarity. 



PODOCARPUS, UHeritier 



Flowers dioecious, rarely moncecious. - 



Fruit drupaceous. 



Seeds hard, covered with a bony shell. 



Leaves differing greatly in shape and arrangement on indi- 

 vidual trees — opposite, alternate, or scattered ; and Unear or 

 oblong. 



Cotyledons two, leafy. 



Trees or shrubs with leathery dark green leaves, but 

 exhibiting great diversity of foHage. Natives of the tem- 

 perate zones of Asia, Africa, and America. 



PoDOCARPUS ALPiNA, R. Byowu. The Alpine 

 Podocarp. — Conifers from the Antipodes are not 

 generally hardy in this country, but at the present 

 time this distinct and very interesting Tasmanian 

 conifer may be seen in excellent condition in 

 several gardens in the neighbourhood of London, 

 where it has stood unharmed for many years. It 

 is of low-spreading growth, with little inclination 

 to retain a leading shoot, the branches weak and 

 pendulous, and the foliage thickly produced, 

 yew-like in appearance, each leaf about half an 

 inch or i inch long, and dark green in colour. The 

 prominent rib along the under side of the leaf is 



