SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA 



343 



. ar 



Classification of Coniferae 



The Coniferae may be divided into two suborders, Taxacese and 

 Pinacese. The Taxacese com- 

 prise a single family, Taxese, 

 characterized by not having the 

 female flowers in cones, but the 

 ovules developed as axial struc- 

 tures. These are represented 

 in the United States by species 

 of Taxus (Yew) and Torreya, 

 one species of the latter grow- 

 ing upon the Pacific slope, the 

 other in Florida. Cephalotaxus 

 (Fig. 308, F), from China and 

 Japan, is sometimes cultivated. 

 The largest genus of the family 

 is Podocarpus, most of whose 

 species belong to the southern 

 hemisphere and tropical Asia. 



The Pinacese include many 

 of the largest and most impor- 

 tant of forest trees. There are 

 two families, Abietinese and 

 Cupressinese, which are further Fl(?i ^.-A, E, Taxus baccata ;" ma, fe- 



male flower ; fr, ripe seed surrounded by 

 the aril. C, section of ovule, m, enclosed 

 by scale-leaves, sc. D, an older one 

 with the embryo-sac, sp. E, ripe seed 

 surrounded by the aril, ar. F, Cephalo- 

 taxus Fortunei, branch with two nearly 

 ripe seeds. (Natural size.) 



subdivided into a number of 

 inferior groups. Of the Abi- 

 etinese the majority of the 

 species belong to the Abietinse 

 (Abietinese in a restricted sense). 

 The principal American genera 

 are Pinus, Larix, Abies, Picea, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga. 



The subfamily Taxodiinse includes the Sequoias of the Pacific 

 coast, and Taxodium, the Bald-cypress of the Southern states. The 

 Japanese Cryptomeria (Fig. 287) also belongs to this group. 



The Cypress family is much smaller. The American genera are 

 Cupressus, Chamsecyparis, Libocedrus, Thuja, Juniperus. Several 

 of these trees are popxilarly known as " Cedar " in the United States, 

 although the true Cedar Cedrus belongs to the Abietinese, and 

 does not occur in America. 



The Coniferse reach their greatest development upon the Pacific 

 slope. All of the American genera occur here except Taxodium. 

 Some of them, like the two Sequoias, are confined to California, 

 which contains a number of other species of extremely limited 

 range, like the Monterey Cypress, Ctipressus macrocarpa (Fig. 310, A) 



