THE GYMNOSPERM TREES 



211 



Eastern red cedar, the one important member of the group, 

 ranges widely over the eastern United States from the Atlantic 

 coast to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Texas, and from southern 

 Canada to Georgia and across to Louisiana. It is a small or 

 medium sized tree, inhabiting a wide variety of soils from good to 

 very poor in quality, and growing very slowly. Abandoned 

 pastures in southern New England often are characterized by 

 scattered growths of this tree, which acts 

 as a pioneer species in reforesting such 

 areas. The wood is of a rather bright red 

 color, fine grained and durable. 



Tews 



Yews (Taxus) have short, flattened, 

 needle-like leaves with sharp points. They 

 are spirally arranged on the stem, but 

 appear two ranked (fig. 197). The fruit is 

 a berry-like structure consisting of a single 

 seed surrounded by a bright red, fleshy 

 covering. 



Only one of the three species of yew 

 found in the United States is of any com- 

 mercial importance. It is the Pacific yew, 

 a small tree found on the Pacific coast 

 and in the northern Rocky Mountains. 

 The wood is fine grained, dense, rather 

 heavy, very durable and of an attractive 

 rose-red color. Its commercial importance is definitely limited by 

 its scarcity, and the fact that it occurs along with much larger 

 trees whose wood is more generally useful as timber. 



Another member of the group, Canada yew or ground hem- 

 lock, ranges through the northeastern states and Canada. It is a 

 low, sprawling shrub found in abundance beneath forest cover 

 where there is considerable soil moisture present. Horticultural 

 varieties of this, and other shrubby yews, are used as ornamentals. 



Fig. 197.— Yew has 

 flattened needle-like 

 leaves and bright red 

 berry-like cones. 



Virtually every genus discussed in the preceding pages has 

 one or more species that are familiar as ornamental trees or 



