162 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFERS 



The leaves of fallen trees are said to remain green for eighteen 

 months. ^ Buds hidden by leaves. Leaves small, spirally arranged, 

 crowded and overlapping, uniform in size and shape. Male and 

 female flowers stalkless, borne on the same tree. 3Iale flowers 

 solitary and catkin-like from the points of the shoots with 

 spirally arranged, crowded stamens. Female flowers sohtary and 

 terminal, with 12-25 spirally arranged scales, each bearing 3-6 

 pendulous ovules. Cones maturing the first season, resembling 

 those of Cryptomeria japonica ; scales woody, wedge-shaped at 

 the base, spreading horizontally, with a triangular, spine-like 

 process near the apex. Seeds small, thin, oblong, with two 

 narrow wings, rather similar to those of Sequoia. 



Wood pale red when newly cut, becoming lighter on exposure ; 

 open and straight -grained, light in weight, easily worked, and in 

 good repute in Tasmania for cabinet work, coach building, and the 

 internal finish of houses. 



The trees are prominent figures amongst the scrub vegetation 

 of the mountains and thrive on rocky ground. In a young state 

 they are regular in outline, but old trees are gaunt with ill-shapen 

 heads. They succeed out of doors m light, loamy soil, moderately 

 free from lime in the moister and milder parts of Britain, and a 

 specimen of A. laxifolia 8 ft. high has been noted as far north 

 as Durris near Aberdeen. Propagation is usually by seeds or 

 cuttings, but they have also been grafted upon stocks of Cryp- 

 tomeria japonica. Cuttings should be inserted in sandy soil in a 

 close, slightly warm frame, during late spring or early summer. 



Athrotaxis cupressoides, Don.^ (Fig. 31.) 



Cimninghamia cuiiressoides, Zuccarini ; Athrotaxis imbricata, Maule. 



A tree 20-40 ft. high, with a girth of 3-5 ft. Leaves very 

 small, scarcely ^ in. long, pressed close to the stem and closely 

 overlapping, thick in texture, apex blunt. Cones spherical, 

 ^1 in. in diameter ; scales woody, base wedge-shaped, apex 

 rounded with a short, spine-like process on the outer side. 



Recognized by its small, closely pressed leaves. 



Found in the Western Ranges and Lake St. Clair district, 

 Tasmania. 



Athrotaxis laxifolia, Hooker. (Fig. 31.) 



A tree 25-30 ft. high, intermediate in habit between the other 

 species. Leaves larger and less closely pressed to the branch 

 than in A. cujjressoides, l-l in. long and broad, thick in texture, 

 with a pointed apex. Cones slightly larger than in the preceding 

 species. 



Summits of the Western Mountains, Tasmania. 



1 Baker and Smith, Pines of Australia, 306 (1910). 

 ^ Trans. Linn. Soc. xviii, 173, t. 13, f. 2 (1841). 



