HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



CON 



edons. It consists of trees or shrubs, 

 mostly with resinous secretions. The 

 leaves are stiff, sometimes linear or needle- 

 shaped, sometimes short and scale-like, 

 or more rarely broad, lobed, or divided. 

 The flowers are unisexual, either in cy- 

 lindrical or short catkins with closely 

 packed scales, or the females are solitary. 

 There is no perianth. The male flowers 

 have the stamens either inserted on the 

 axis of the catkin under the scales, or the 

 anther cells are sessile on the inside of the 

 scales themselves, which then form part 

 of the stamens. The ovules and seeds 

 are naked, that is, without ovary, style, 

 or pericarp, although sometimes more or 

 less inclosed in two bracts, or in a fleshy 

 or hardened disk. The seeds are albu- 

 minous, with one or sometimes several 

 embryos in the center, each embryo hav- 

 ing sometimes more than two cotyledons. 

 There are nearly two hundred known 

 species, distributed over a great part of 

 the globe, several of them forming large 

 forests in temperate climates, or, more 

 rarely, within the tropics; while some of 

 them extend almost to the limits of woody 

 vegetation in high latitudes, or at great 

 elevations. They are distributed into 

 about twenty-five genera, forming three 

 tribes or sub-orders, viz. : Atmtince, with 

 the fruits collected in cones and inverted 

 ovules; of this the principal genera are 

 Pinus, (including Abies,} Araucaria, Gun- 

 ninghamia, Sequoia, etc. 2. Gupressinece, 

 with the fruits collected in cones and 

 erect ovules, including Juniperus, Calli- 

 tris, Thuja, Cupressus, Taxodium, Grypto- 

 meria, etc. 3. Taxinece, sometimes con- 

 sidered as a distinct family, with the 

 fruits solitary or loosely spiked, including 

 Podocarpus, Dacrydium, Phyllocladus, 

 Salisburia, Taxus, etc. 



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The Coniferee are very useful and im- 

 portant, yielding valuable timber and 

 resin, oil, pitch, and turpentine. Some 

 attain a vast height, as Sequoia gigantea 

 in California, specimens having been 

 measured more than 450 feet high and 

 116 feet in circumference at the base. 

 Taxodium sempervirens also attains a very 

 great size. The Pines have their leaves 

 in clusters of two, three, four, five, or six, 

 surrounded by a membraneous sheath at 

 the base. Pinus sylvestris, the common 

 Scotch Fir, abounds in cold climates, and 

 supplies timber, turpentine, and pitch, as 

 well as a hemp-like fiber from its leaves, 

 which is used for stuffing pillows and 

 cushions under the name of pine wool. 

 Pinus pinaster, or the Bordeaux Pine, 

 thrives well \ on the seashore. Abies in- 

 cludes different species of Fir and Spruce, 

 in all of which the leaves come off from 

 the stem and branches singly. Abies ex- 

 celsa is the Norway Spruce; A. balsamea 

 is the Balm of Gilead Fir; A. Canadensis 

 is the Hemlock Spruce; and A. 'pectinata 

 is the Silver Fir. Gedrus comprises those 

 Cedars which have clustered persistent 

 leaves. Gedrus Libani is the Cedar of 

 Lebanon, the Eres of the Bible; Cedrus 

 Deodara is the sacred Cedar of India. 

 Larix includes the species of Larch, which 

 have clustered deciduous leaves. Larix 

 Europea is the European Larch ; L. Amer- 

 icana is the American Larch, commonly 

 called Hackmatack; L. Griffithii is the 

 Himalayan Larch. The Araucarias have 

 single-seeded scales, with adherent seeds 

 and many-celled anthers. Araucaria im- 

 bricata is a Chilian species; A. Bidivittiiis 

 from Moreton Bay: both have edible 

 seeds. Eutassa excelsa is the Norfolk Is- 

 land Pine, which yields valuable wood. 

 Cryptomeria Japonica is the Japan Cedar, 



