stability and Real Atavism 169 



are chiefly found in the foliage and in the 

 branches, these aberrations are to be seen on 

 the plants during the whole year. Moreover 

 they are in some cases much more nmnerous 

 than in the first instance. The Cryptomeria of 

 Japan has a variety with twigs resembling 

 ropes. This is not caused by a twisting, but 

 only by a curvature of the needles in such a way 

 that they seem to grow in spiral lines around 

 the twigs. This variety often reverts to the 

 type with widely spread, straight needles. And 

 on many a specimen four, five, or more reverted 

 branches may be seen on different parts of the 

 same shrub. Still more widely cultivated is the 

 shrub called Cephalotaxus pedunculata fasti- 

 giata, and more conunonly known under its old 

 name of Podocarpus horaiana. It is the broom- 

 like variety of a species, nearly allied to the 

 common American and European species of 

 yew, {Taxus minor and T. haccata). It is a low 

 shrub, with broadly linear leaves of a clear 

 green. In the species the leaves are arranged in 

 two rows, one to the left and one to the right 

 of the horizontally growing and widely spread- 

 ing branches. In the variety the branches are 

 erect and the leaves inserted on all sides. 

 When sporting, it returns to the bilateral pro- 

 totype and flat wings of fan-shaped twigs are 

 produced laterally on its dense broom-like tufts. 



