116 ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN BOTANY 



looked like Ferns bearing seeds, and it is believed that they 

 came from very ancient Ferns by acquiring the seed habit. 



These fern-like Gymnosperms gave rise to other groups, 

 and these in turn to still others, until finally the Gymno- 

 sperms of to-day appeared. 



68. The modern Gymnosperms. The greatest group 

 of modern Gymnosperms is the one to which pines, spruces, 



FIG. 93. A group of Conifers (mostly spruces) along the southern boundary of the 

 White River Forest Reserve, Colorado. Photograph by LAND. 



hemlocks, cedars, etc., belong (Fig. 93), and is called Conifers 

 (" cone-bearers ") on account of the cones the plants (usually 

 trees) bear. These Conifers are found in forest masses, 

 sometimes very extensive, throughout the north temperate 

 regions, and they extend farther south along the mountain 

 ranges. Many of them are extremely valuable for timber, 

 and it is well known how extensively and ruthlessly they have 

 been destroyed by man. In the temperate regions of the 

 southern hemisphere there is also a great display of Conifers 

 that differ from those of the northern hemisphere. 



