FOSSIL CYCADEOUS PLANTS. 291 



Zamite are remarkably distinguished by the pecu- 

 liarity of their fructification, their seeds being 

 exposed; hence the name of the order in which 

 these plants are arranged — gymnospermous, i. e. 

 naked seeds : the organization of their stems is 

 also different from that of the other coniferae.* 

 As several species of Zamia and Cycas are cul- 

 tivated in our greenhouses, their general aspect, 

 which approaches that of the palms, must be 

 familiar to the reader. Most of the Zamiae are 

 short plants, with stout cylindrical stems, beset 

 with thick scales, which are the petioles, or leaf 

 stalks, left after the leaves have fallen off. On the 

 summit of the stem is a crown of elegant pinnated 

 leaves, with simple veins. The fruit bears some 

 resemblance to the cones of the pines, but the 

 seeds are not enclosed in receptacles. The Cycadece 

 resemble the Zamice, but the trunk is in general 

 longer ; one species, Cycas circinnalis, attains a 

 height of thirty feet. The stem is in most species 

 simple, but in some it is dichotomous, dividing into 

 two or more branches ; the leaves are tough, and in 

 the young state coiled up like a crosier, as in the 

 ferns. These plants are inhabitants of hot and 

 humid climates, and abound in the West Indies, 

 Molucca Isles, &c. A few plants of this order 



* See Dr. Buekland's Bridgwater Essay, p. 490. 



