340 THE BOOK OF EVERGREENS. 



DOUBTFUL SPECIES OF BIOTA. 



2. B. falcata, Sort. Syn. Thuja falcata, Lindley. 

 Collectors in Japan have recently introduced this plant, 

 which may prove to be but a variety of 13. orientalis. It 

 is very upright and conical in growth, with elegant foliage 

 and a compact habit, and is frequently used in its native 

 country for ornamental hedges and screens. 



3* B. pygmaea. Introduced under the name of Thvja 

 pygmcea, but which also may be nothing more than a va- 

 riety of _Z?. orientalis. " Its beautiful dark-green foliage 

 forms a cushion-like tuft, giving it a most distinct and 

 novel appearance, and rendering it one of the prettiest of 

 dwarf Conifers." I. G-. Veitch. 



22. CUPRESSIJS, Tournefort. CYPRESS. 



Flowers monoecious on different branches, in terminal, 

 small catkins. Sterile catkins composed of shield-shaped, 

 scale-like filaments, bearing 2 to 4 anther cells under the 

 lower margin. Fertile catkins globular, of shield-shaped 

 scales in 4 ranks, bearing several erect, bottle-shaped ovules. 

 Cones globular, firmly closed, but opening at maturity ; 

 the scales thick and woody, pointed or bossed in the mid- 

 dle ; the few or several narrowly winged seeds attached 

 to their contracted base or stalk. Cotyledons, 2 or 3. 

 Strong-scented evergreen trees, with very small and scale- 

 like, closely appressed, imbricated leaves, and exceedingly 

 durable wood. Gray. 



Of this large genus we have but three or four species 

 that will endure the climate of the Middle States. They 

 are natives of North America, Southern Europe, and Asia, 

 varying greatly in size, from the smallest shrubs to the 

 majestic Californian trees that are over 100 feet in height. 



