732 



THE NATURE BOOK 



FOLIAGE OF LAWSON 

 CYPRESS (LEFT) 

 AND ROMAN CY- 

 PRESS. 



THE CYPRESSES 



In these trees 

 the leaves have 

 been reduced to 

 mere scales. 

 These are ar- 

 ranged upon the 

 shoots and twigs 

 in opposite pairs, 

 with the alter- 

 nate pairs at right 

 angles. These fit so closely as completely 

 to ensheath the shoot. The two chief 

 Cypresses with us are the Roman (or 

 Common) Cypress, and the Lawson 

 Cypress. 



Their usual form is flame-hke, as that of 

 the Lombardy Poplar. The flowers of 

 both kinds are found on the same tree, 

 but on different branches. They are very 

 small, but being grouped more or less at 

 the end of the previous year's shoots, 

 and of distinctive colour, they are fairly 

 conspicuous. The small cones are globular. 

 They have but few scales, and these of 

 a peculiar shape. Each separate scale 

 is hke a large-headed nail. The heads 

 of these scales, pressed together and 

 become pentagonal by pressure, form the 

 outer surface of the cone. The cone 



opens, to liberate the winged seeds, by 

 the separation of these heads of the scales. 

 The Thuyas, which otherwise most closely 

 resemble the Cypresses, are easily distin- 

 guished by the absence of this pecuharity 

 in the cone-scales. 



The Roman Cypress has its brandling 

 close and dense. The shoots and twigs, 

 wdth their sheathing leaves, are square in 

 section. The pollen-bearing flowers are 

 yellow, the fruit-producing flowers a 

 brownish green. The cones are an inch in 

 diameter. 



The Lawson Cypress has a looser 



FOLIAGE OF YEW. 



branching and a more flattened spray. 

 The shoots, closely ensheathed by the 

 leaves, are flattened also. The margins 

 of the leaves are emphasised by waxy 

 Hues, forming a series of markings, V or 

 Y shaped. The pollen-bearing flowers are 

 a bright red, the fruit-producing flowers 

 a steely blue. The cones are about one- 

 third of an inch in diameter. Tliis 

 Cy])ress, though of recent intro- 

 duction, is the one now most 

 commonly met with. 



FOLIAGE OF CEDAR OF LEBANON. 



THE YEW 



Even apart from its associa- 

 tions this tree cannot be over- 

 looked. Its rounded massive 

 l)uild, its dark evergreen foliage, 

 its columned trunk, often of 

 immense proportions, its air of 



