Natural Famili/ of Plants called Coniferie. 177 



in a regular manner on arriving- at maturity. In Jthrotaxis the lower edge 

 of each side of the modified leaf assumes the condition of the cell of an ordi- 

 nary anther ; and here it is evident that both surfaces are employed in forming 

 the cells, for their walls are continuous with the substance of the scale : but 

 in the rest of the Capress'meœ, it would seem that the upper surface of the 

 modified leaf or anther remains unchanged, and that a portion of the nnder 

 surface only becomes polliniferous, tlie pollen occupying 2, 3, or 5 separate 

 spots indicated by the raised and altered portions of the cuticle which cover 

 them. These polliniferous thecae are analogous to the subdivisions of the 

 anthers of Rhlzophorea', Laurinece, &c., and are in all cases unilocular, and, 

 as far as I have observed, destitute of any septum ; their line of dehiscence is 

 various, being sometimes in the direction of the axis, and sometimes contrary 

 to it. I ought to except Athrntaxls and P'lnas, in both of which tiie scales 

 diflPer but little from the ordinary condition of the anther in other plants. My 

 opinion of the scales being simple, and not originating from the confluence of 

 several antherae, is founded upon their resemblance to the bractes, and their 

 transition through them to the proper leaves, from their nervation, which is 

 entirely that of a simple leaf, exhibiting no traces of composition ; and lastly, 

 from their assuming in Pbuis and Athrotaxh- the ordinary condition of the 

 simple anther. It may be worth noticing, that in Atlirotaxls selaginoides, 

 where the leaves are acuminate, the apex of the anther is also pointed ; and in 

 A. cupressoides, in which the leaves are obtuse, the anther is likewise blunt. 

 The wood of Athrofa.rls presents nothing unusual in its structure, but resem- 

 bles that of Cri/ptomeria , exce|)t that the dots on the vessels are fewer. 



I am indebted to my friend Dr. Lindley for the opportunity of giving figures 

 and descriptions of both species of this curious genus, the specimens from 

 which they were taken being contained in his rich herbarium, and having 

 been sent to him, along with many other interesting plants, by INIr. Gunn, a 

 zealous botanist, who is settled at Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. The 

 drawings have been done under my inspection by my young friend Mr. Kippist, 

 and they afford a good specimen of his success as a draughtsman. 



The generic name alludes to the crowded disposition of the leaves atid scales 

 of the female spike, and is compounded of adpooc, con/ertas, and ra^tc, ordo. 



