THE GYMNOSPERMS GROWING ON THE GROUNDS OF 

 LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSITY. 



LERov ABRAMS, Associate Professor of Botany. 



THE GYMNOSPERMS are biologically more primitive than the Angio- 

 sperms. The flowers are always unisexual and without perianth (ex- 

 cept Gnetales 1 ). The staminate flowers resemble those of the club- 

 mosses and are short or elongated shoots bearing a number of spiral or virti- 

 cillate stamens. The ovulate flowers are of a more varied structure, but the 

 ovules are not enclosed in an ovary as in the Angiosperms. 



The Gymnosperms comprise only trees and shrubs, and are represented 

 by four living and two extinct orders. Representatives of two of the orders, 

 Ginkgoales and Conijerce, are cultivated on the University grounds.* 



GINKGOALES. 



A single species, Ginkgo biloba, is the sole survivor of this ancient order 

 of Gymnosperms. 



1. Ginkgo biloba L. Ginkgo or Maidenhair Tree. 



Leaves deciduous, clustered on short stubby twigs, fan-shaped, thickened 

 on the margin and usually divided, parallel-veined; flowers dioecious; stami- 

 nate in slender aments ; ovulate in pairs on long stalks ; fruit drupe-like, with 

 an ill-scented, fleshy coat surrounding a smooth oval stone. 



Native of China and Japan. Handsome staminate trees are on the 

 grounds of the Stanford Residence, and a few young trees are planted on the 

 Campus. 



CONIFERS. 



Trees or shrubs with more or less resinous wood and usually narrowly 

 linear or needle-like evergreen or rarely deciduous leaves. Flowers monoe- 

 cious or dioecious. Fruit a woody cone or fleshy and drupe-like. 



* In the spring of 1909 Professor Dudley prepared a key to the Conifers grow- 

 ing on the Campus for the use of the students of Forest Botany. As only a few 

 carbon copies were made the present paper was undertaken in order that Pro- 

 fessor Dudley's work might be embodied in permanent form. Although the key 

 ha.s been the basis of this paper the writer has gone over the field with considerable 

 thoroughness, verifying the identifications, and has added the following species not 

 credited to the Campus by Professor Dudley: Agathis loranthifolia, Cephalotaxus 

 pedunculata, Picea Parryana, P. sitchensis, Pinus Cembra, P. edulis, P. excelsa, 

 P. Jeffreyi, P. Lambertiana, P. monticola, P. nigra, P. Pinea, Sciadopitys verticillata 

 (probably added to our collections since the key was prepared), Taxodium mucrona- 

 tum, Thuyopsis dolabrata. 



