CXVIII. CONIFEKiE. 353 



tary in a lax spike. — Trees or slirubs with linear or ovate, 

 nerved or nerveless leaves. 



1. PODOCARPUS, L'Hcrit. 



Flowers dioecious or rarely monoBcious on different branches. 

 — Male : Catkins terminal or axillary, solitary or tufted, 

 loosely spiked or subracemose, nude, girt at base with imbri- 

 cate bracts. Stamens many, on the axis ; filaments very 

 short ; anthers 2-celled, with a scale-like connective, extrorse. 

 — Female : In 1-2-flowered spikes, the bracts confluent with a 

 fleshy rachis, or an ebracteate fleshy rachis serving as a recep- 

 tacle for the seed. Ovule 1, sessile under the apex of a scale, 

 inverted, adnate throughout its length to the scale, the outer 

 coat prolonged into a short neck, covering the inner. Seed 

 inverted, its outer coat fleshy, inner bony ; embryo in the 

 apex of fleshy albumen. — Endl. Gen. n. 1800. 



Trees or shrubs, widely dispersed. Leaves rarely opposite, commonly 

 scattered, linear or oblong, 1-nerved or nerveless. — Tliere are a few South 

 African species, of which the common " Yellow Wood " (P. latifolius) is the 

 best known. 



StiBORDER 2. Cupressinese. Ovules 1 or more, sometimes 

 many, at the bases of peltate, hard scales, arranged in small 

 capitate cones. — Trees or shrubs, with alternate opposite or 

 ternate, narrow or small and scale-like leaves. 



2. WIDDRINGTONIA, Endl. 



Flowers dioecious. — Male: Catkins terminal, solitary, minute, 

 with a diphyllous involucre. Stamens many, decussately 

 opposite on an axis, quadrifariously imbricate ; filaments very 

 short, produced into an obliquely peltate, scale-like connec- 

 tive, bearing 2 anther- cells on its underside. — Female : Cat- 

 kins at the ends of lateral ramuli, solitary. Ovuliferous-scales 

 4, equal, shortly mucronate below the apex, valvately connate 

 round a short axis. Ovules 5-10, at the base of each scale, 

 erect. Cone subglobose, 4-valved, the valves woody, mucro- 

 nate, erect. Seeds few, winged. — Endl. Gen. n. 1790. 



South African trees, the " Cedars " of the Cederberg Mountains. Leaves 

 closely set, alternate, in the young plant linear-acicular, spreading, in the 

 adults scale-hke, densely imbricate, often gland uliferous at back. 



Order CXIX. CYCADE^. 



Flowers unisexual. — Male-flowers in cones, each floret con- 

 sisting of a scale or anther, bearing pollen on its under surface 



