110 



CONIFERALES (RECENT) 



[CH. 



10 20 sporangia, longer and relatively narrower than in other 

 genera and attached by one end, in contrast to the more complete 

 union of sporophyll and sporangium 

 in Pinus. In Araucaria Muelleri and 

 A. Rulei (fig. 678) the microstrobili 

 reach a length of 25 cm. : in A. excelsa 

 and A. Cookii they are much smaller 

 (fig. 679, A, B). In Taxus 47 spor- 

 angia are radially disposed on the 

 inner face of a flat distal expansion. 

 The microstrobili of Cunninghamia 1 , 

 Pseudolarix*, and Keteleeria are borne 

 in umbels, while in Cryptomeria and 

 Taxodium* they occur in spikes. The 

 microspores may be winged or wing- 

 less : in the Abietineae there are as a 

 rule two conspicuous wings or bladders 

 (fig. 684, B), but the spores of Pseudo- 

 tsuga are wingless and in Tsuga both 

 types occur. In Microcachrys* the 

 wings vary from 2 to 6 (fig. 684, C) 

 and in Dacrydium 5 and Podocarpus 6 

 (fig. 684, A) there are 2 or 3 small 

 bladders. In Taxus, Cephalotaxus, 

 Torreya, Sciadopitys, the Cupressineae, 

 and some other Conifers there are no 



prothallus cells : the microspores of the Abietineae are character- 

 ised by the occurrence of 2, or occasionally 3 or 4 7 , evanescent 

 prothallus cells (fig. 684, B) ; in Dacrydium there are 4 6 prothallus 

 cells ; in Microcachrys 3 or 4 ; in Podocarpus (fig. 684, A) as many 

 as 8, while in Araucaria 15 cells have been recorded and as many 

 as 30 nuclei. The two male gametes are non-motile. 



The term Conifer though appropriate as regards the majority 

 of the plants so styled is misleading in the case of several genera 



1 Siebold (70) PI. cm. ' 2 Bot. Mag. Jan. 1908. 



3 Gard. Chron. Nov. 25, 1893, p. 659. 



4 Thomson (09). 5 Young (07). 



6 Jeffrey and Chrysler (07); see also Thibout (96); Burlingame (08); (13); 

 (15); Sinnott (13). 7 Hutchinson (.14). 



B 



FIG. 678. Microstrobilus 



Araucaria excelsa (A) and 

 Araucaria Rulei (B). (After 

 Seward and Ford; A, nat. 

 size; B, i nat. size.) 





