614 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO I693. 



the size of the cedars of Lebanon, and of the same shape ; the cuticula, or 

 small skin, of each scale being covered over with a white short down or wool, 

 shining also like silk. Between the scales is lodge^l the seed, which is almost 

 as laro^e as the pine-nut, nearly the same shape, of a dark brown colour, 

 and having a rising eminent line or belly running through the middle of it from 

 end to end. This seed lies in a thin reddish brown membrane, which has on 

 its top four feathers, like those belonging to the seeds of clematis, which, being 

 between the scales and rising above them, adds a very great beauty to the cone, 

 and may likewise serve for wings, by means of the wind, to loosen or carry the 

 seeds to distant places, thereby propagating itself. This grows at the Cape of 

 Good Hope, where I am assured by Mr, James Pettiver, that it is planted by the 

 Dutch in their famous garden, being thought one of its greatest ornaments. 



The first author I have observed that seems to mention this, is Captain 

 Nicholas Dounton, who, speaking of things he observed by the Cape of Good 

 Hope, apud purchas, lib. 3, cap, 12, § 1, p. 276, says, ' In divers places 

 ' scatteringly we saw some trees of small stature, somewhat broad topped, 



* bearing a fruit in size and proportion like a pine-apple, but the husk not so 



* hard and spongy, the seeds whereof were devoured by the birds, the husks 



* remaining on the trees, the leaves whereof were in form of our housleek in 



* England, but not so thick.' Mr. Breynius likewise, in his first Century of 

 Exotic Plants, p. 22, mentions a larger sort of frutex aethiopicus conifer foliis 

 cneori, salici aemulus, whicli perhaps may be this. Dr. Plucknet, in the third 

 part of his Phytographia, tab. 20O, has figured this under the name of Leuca- 

 dendros, Africana arbor tota argentea, sericea foliis integris, atlas tree D. Her- 

 man, which was the top of one of these young trees which came to Mr. 

 Doody. 



2. Conifera alypi folio, seminibus pennatis pluribus in medio coni conglome- 

 ratis, et non inter squammas aliorum conorum more nascentibus 1 



The branch of this tree had a brown coloured smooth bark, with a whitish 

 hard wood, and small pith. The leaves were round it, without any order, 

 very thick set, having no foot-stalks, being about 24- inches long, and about -^ 

 of an inch broad near the farther end, where broadest ; smooth, hard, and of a 

 brownish or dirty green colour ; on the top of the branch comes the fruit, 

 which is surrounded by three or four twigs overtopping it, and with their leaves 

 almost hiding it. It is about 5 inches longi and is made up of many scales, hard 

 and red, inclosing one another, the lowermost and outwardmost being very short 

 the inwardmost 4 inches long, each of them ending in a point ; some scales, 

 having on their outsides a gummy juice. In the middle of these scales were 

 the first rudiments of many seeds, not being fully ripe, each of which is 



