VII] THE ARAUCARIA FAMILY 111 



Norfolk Island trees as resembling basaltic columns, 

 and relates how on approaching the island everyone 

 was satisfied that the columnar objects were trees, 

 * except our Philosophers, who still maintained they 

 were basaltes.' The leaves are short, about half an 

 inch long, laterally compressed and slightly spreading 

 and sickle-shaped — sometimes shorter and broader 

 and overlapping — arranged in crowded spirals. The 

 scales of the broadly oval cones are single-seeded, but 

 differ from those of Arancaria imhricata in having the 

 seed exposed on the surface and in the greater breadth 

 and thinner borders of the scales. In both Araucaria 

 and Agathis the nature of the seed-scales constitutes 

 a distinguishing feature. The leaves of Arcmcarla 

 imhricata differ in form from those of other Conifers. 

 The foliage shoots of Araucaria excclsa and other 

 species, e.g. the very closely allied A. Cooldi of the 

 New Hebrides and New Caledonia, though not unlike 

 the branches of a Japanese Conifer {Cryptomeria 

 japouica), often cultivated in England, afford fairly 

 trustworthy characters for identification purposes. 



The minute structure of the wood of both Araucaria 

 and Agathis constitutes an important distinguishing 

 feature and enables us to recognise on microscopical 

 examination even a fragment of wood of either of 

 these genera. The small elongated cells or water- 

 conducting elements of the wood of the Araucarieae 

 are characterised by one or two, and occasionally as 



