12 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



damion pine) is highly valued. The yew wood is 

 hard and susceptible of a high polish. It is used in 

 cabinet work and for bows. The seed and shoots of yew 

 are said to be poisonous, but the arillus is harmless. 



In cultivation in America are a few genera for orna- 

 mental purposes: Cephalotaxus, East Asia; Podocar- 

 pus, Chile, Japan, Australia, grown in the South; Taxus 

 (Yew), Europe, Asia, North America; Torreya (Cali- 

 fornia Nutmeg), California to Florida. 



18. Pinaceae (from the genus Pinus, the classical 

 Latin name). PINE FAMILY. Fig. 5. Tree or shrub, with 

 no true vessels in the secondary wood, but with resin- 

 tubes: leaves linear, or needle-like, or scale-like, 

 alternate or opposite, evergreen or deciduous: anthers 

 and ovules both in true cones plainly subtended by 

 scales (sporophylls) ; the staminate scales usually 

 bearing 2-6, rarely more, anthers on the under side; 

 the pistillate bearing 1-2, rarely many, ovules on the 

 upper side, or peltate and ovule-bearing under the 

 crown or at its base; ovules with 1 integument: fruit 



5. TAXACE^B: 1. Taxus, a, male cone; b, fruit (seed and aril). 

 PINACE.E: 2. Tsuga, female cone. 3. Picea, female cone-scale with 

 ovules. 4. Pseudotsuga, female cone. 5. Chamsecyparis, female 

 cone. 6. Sequoia, female cone. 7. Juniperus, a, female cones 

 (berries); 6, cross-section berry. GNETACE.E: 8. Ephedra, a, 

 female inflorescence; b, male inflorescence. 



a dry woody cone with dry, often winged seeds between 

 the scales; or berry-like through the union of the fleshy 

 cone-scales. 



Sub-family 1. Cupressineae. Cone-scales opposite; 

 ovules erect: leaves opposite or whorled. 



Sub-family 2. Abietinese. Cone-scales alternate; 

 ovules inverted: leaves alternate. 



There are 25 genera and about 240 species, widely 

 distributed but most abundant in temperate regions. 

 The largest genus is Pinus with 70 species. The family 

 is related to the Taxaceae and Ginkgoacese, from which 

 it differs in the presence of true staminate and pistillate 

 cones. It also differs from the latter in the absence of 

 motile sperm-cells. 



The Pinacese, like other Gymnosperms, is an old 

 group, more abundant in former geologic ages. Many 

 fossil species are known. The Sequoias of California 

 were formerly more abundant, extending to Greenland. 

 The young plants of many Cupressineae possess foliage 



quite different in appearance from the mature foliage, 

 the leaves being longer and more spreading. These 

 juvenile forms have been called Retinisporas, a name 

 which has been applied also to all cultivated species of 

 Chamaecyparis. Juniper "berries" are fleshy cones 

 with peltate, fused scales. The leaves of Larix, Pseu- 

 dolarix and Cedrus are deciduous. The branchlets and 

 leaves are deciduous in Taxodium. The cone-scales 

 of many Abietineae are double, an outer thinner 3- 

 toothed scale, and a thick inner scale that bears the 

 ovules (see Pseudotsuga). 



Among the Pinaceao are some of our most valuable 

 timber trees; e. g., cedar, arborvitse, spruce, fir, hem- 

 lock and redwood. The resin from various pines when 

 distilled yields spirits of turpentine and rosin; when 

 dry-distilled, it yields tar. Venice turpentine is the 

 resinous exudation of European larches: Canada 

 balsam that of Abies balsamea. Dammar resin is from 

 the Malayan Agathis Dammara. Kauri resin is the 

 semi-fossilized resin of Agathis australis of Australia 

 and New Zealand. Sandarac resin is from Callitris 

 quadrivalvis of Northwest Africa. Amber is the fos- 

 silized resin of prehistoric conifers around the Baltic. 

 Oil of savin is from the leaves and twigs of Juniperus 

 sabina, and oil of cedar from Thuya occidentalis. Juniper 

 berries, from J. cotnmunis of Europe and America, are 

 diuretic and also used for flavoring gin. Edible seeds 

 are produced by Pinus Pinea (stone pine) of the 

 Mediterranean, P. Cembra of Europe and Siberia, P. 

 Parry/ma and P. edulis of the southwestern United 

 States, Podocarpus neriifolia of the East Indies, Arau- 

 caria braziliana of Brazil, and A. Bidwillii of Australia. 

 Bread is made by the Laps and Eskimos from the 

 inner bark of Pinus sylvestris and Abies alba; also from 

 various Pinaceae by our northwestern Indians. Deodar 

 (Cedrus Deodara) is sacred to the Hindoos. Cedrus 

 Libani is the cedar of Lebanon. Pine bark was form- 

 erly used for tanning. 



Many genera are in cultivation in America. Among 

 these are: Abies (Fir, Balsam); Araucaria (Norfolk 

 Island Pine, Monkey Puzzle); Callitris (Cypress Pine); 

 Cedrus (Cedar of Lebanon, Deodar); Chamsscyparis 

 (White Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Hinoki Cypress, Sawara 

 Cypress, Retinispora, Japanese Cedar); Cryptomeria; 

 Capressus (Cypress, Monterey Cypress); Juniperus 

 (Red Cedar, Juniper, Savin); Larix (Larch, Tamarack, 

 Hackmatack); Libocedrus (Incense Cedar, White Ce- 

 dar); Picea (Spruce); Pinus (Pine, Pinnon, Soledad); 

 Pseudolarix (Golden Larch); Pseudotsuga (Douglas 

 Spruce, Red Fir); Sciadopitys (Umbrella Pine); Se- 

 quoia (Big Tree of California, Redwood); Taxodium 

 (Bald Cypress, Deciduous Cypress) ; Thuya (Arborvi- 

 tae, White Cedar) ; Thuyopsis; Tsuga (Hemlock Spruce). 



Order 11. GNETALES 



19. Gnetacese (from the genus Gnetum, derived from 

 Gneman, said to be the old Malay name of the plant). 

 GNETUM FAMILY. Fig. 5. Very peculiar semi-woody 

 plants of diverse habit: leaves large and broad, or modi- 

 fied, or reduced, or opposite, or whorled: no resin-tubes 

 in the stem; secondary wood containing true vessels: 

 true flowers present, with a 2-4-parted perianth, 

 unisexual, rarely bisexual; stamens 2-8; pistillate 

 perianth becoming juicy or wing-like in fruit and inclos- 

 ing one naked orthotropous seed with 1 or 2 integu- 

 ments. 



The family consists of 3 genera and about 35-40 

 species, widely distributed. It is distinguished from 

 the Coniferse by the presence of a perianth, the absence 

 of resin-tubes, and the presence of vessels in the 

 secondary wood. The endosperm development, also, 

 approaches that of the Angiosperms. The fertilization 

 is by means of pollen-tubes. The three genera are 

 very distinct: Ephedra, of the tropics of both hemis- 

 pheres, is much branched, with slender jointed striate 



