Cnapler 17 



THE ANGIOSPBRM TREES 



It has already been shown that the terms "deciduous" and 

 "evergreen" as commonly applied to Angiosperm and Gymno- 

 sperm trees respectively sometimes fail in their proper meaning. 

 Just as there are larches and bald cypress, in reality deciduous 

 trees, included in the evergreen group, so there are included with 

 the deciduous trees a number of forms which are actually ever- 

 green in that they retain their leaves for more than one year. 

 Included among these are our common Christmas holly and the 

 live oaks found in the southeast and on the Pacific coast. The 

 terms "broadleaved" and "hardwood" are sometimes used 

 synonymously with deciduous in referring to Angiosperm trees. 

 As a group, the hardwoods are more exacting with regard to soil 

 and moisture requirements. In a region characterized by presence 

 of both hardwoods and conifers, the former will be found to 

 occupy the more fertile soils. So it was that the early settlers, in 

 selecting potential farm lands, learned to use the native forest 

 cover as an indicator of soil fertility. Those who cleared hardwood 

 areas raised better crops than those whose farms occupied former 

 softwood areas. 



In numbers, the trees of this group far outrank the Gymno- 

 sperms. There are some nine hundred different species of trees in 

 the United States, 90% of which are Angiosperms. The relative 

 importance of the two groups is most strikingly shown in the 

 total annual lumber cut to which the hardwoods contribute but 

 14%, the softwoods 86%. This is almost in proportion to the 

 remaining sawtimber stand in the United States, of which 89 % 

 is composed of softwoods and 1 1 % hardwoods. These figures and 

 facts point to the disproportionate importance of Gymnosperm 

 and Angiosperm trees, considering the relative number of species 

 found in each group. 



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