37 



imbricated bracts. Stamens several, short. Female catkins stalked, 

 axillary, solitary, destitute of bracts, one-flowered. Drupe one- 

 celled, roundish, elliptical, half immersed in the fleshy receptacle. 



Height from 50 to 70 feet ; diameter from 3 to 7. Bark thin, grey, 

 smooth. Wood yellowish, uot imlike deal, but destitute of resiu. It is 

 the Omcaba of the Kafirs. 



Extensively used in the Colony as timber, in the shape of beams, 

 plauks, floors, &c., but also for all kinds of carpenter's and joiner's work, 

 such as bedsteads, tables, presses, chairs ; in fact, for common furniture 

 of every description, and looks exceedingly well when polished. The 

 lofty stem of this tree is serviceable for top masts and yards of ships. 

 Common in the primeval forests of the Kuysna, where it is found ia 

 greatest perfection. 



101. Podocarpus Thunbe7'gii. Hook. (Upright Yellow-wood.) 

 — Leaves broad-oblong, lanceolate, blunt with a callous point, 

 narrowed into a short stalk, one-nerved, leathery, smooth. Male 

 catkins short, axillary ; female one solitary, stalked ; stalk as 

 long as the 2 teethed receptacle. Branches and fruit as in P, 

 elongatus. Hook. Lond. Journ. of Botany, vol. 1. tab. 22. 



Stem very straight. Height 40-60 feet ; diameter 3 to 4. Bark thin, 

 whitish-grey. Wood bright-yellow, very handsome when polished, of 

 finer grain, and greatly superior to the former. It is particularly fit 

 for furniture, but not less so for a variety of other purposes. The leaves 

 are the broadest of any of the South African species of the genus. 



Grows in the forests both of the Western and Eastern districts. Fl. 

 September. 



102. Podocarpus Pruinosus. E, M. (Bastard Yellow- 

 wood.) — ^ra/ic/ie^grey, much spreading; ^w/^s angular. Leaves 

 distichous, subsessile, linear -lanceolate, subfalcate, acute, leathery, 

 glaucous, 10 lines to an inch, long, 1| to 2 lines broad. 3Iale 

 catkins cylindrical, 3-4 lines long, crowded in the axils of the 

 leaves ; female flowers and drupes unknown to me. 



Attains a very considerable height and circumference. Wood pale- 

 yellow, tough, but in all respects inferior to the two preceding species, 

 though extensively used for building purposes throughout the Colony 

 and British Caffraria. Among the Kafirs it goes by the name of 

 Omtemseha. 



Common in the forests of the Colony and beyond it. 



