142 BOTANY. 



cone, but the ovules are borne singly at the end of a branch, 

 and the seed in the yew (Taxus) is surrounded by a bright 

 red, fleshy integument. One species of yew, a low, straggling 

 shrub, occurs sparingly in the northern states, and is the only 

 representative of the group at the north. The European yew 

 and the curious Japanese GingJco (Fig. 78, JB) are sometimes 

 met with in cultivation. 



Of the true conifers, there are a number of families, based 

 on peculiarities in the leaves and cones. Some have needle- 

 shaped leaves and dry cones like the firs, spruces, hemlock 

 (Fig. 78, C). Others have flattened, scale-like leaves, and 

 more or less fleshy cones, like the red cedar (Fig. 78, D) and 

 Arbor-vitce (E). 



A few of the conifers, such as the tamarack or larch (Larix) 

 and cypress (Taxodium), lose their leaves in the autumn, and 

 are not, therefore, properly "evergreen." 



The conifers include some of the most valuable as well as 

 the largest of trees. Their timber, especially that of some of 

 the pines, is particularly valuable, and the resin of some of 

 them is also of much commercial importance. Here belong 

 the giant red-woods (Sequoia) of California, the largest of all 

 American trees. 



The joint firs are comparatively small plants, rarely if ever 

 reaching the dimensions of trees. They are found in various 

 parts of the world, but are few in number, and not at all likely 

 to be met with by the ordinary student. Their flowers are 

 rather more highly differentiated than those of the other gym- 

 nosperms, and are said to show some approach in structure to 

 those of the angiosperms. 



