XLnr] 



TAXESTEAE 



161 



strands, and stomata occur on both surfaces^. The small megastrobili 

 consist of spiral or decussate scales, each with one seed. Miss Young^ mentions 

 the occurrence of tracheids with spiral bands : a single large pit occupies the 

 field of a ray-cell as in Dacrydium Franklini^. The seed in the early stage of 

 development shows signs of a ruminated endosperm. 



TAXINEAE. The occurrence of spiral bands in the secondary tracheids 

 is a family-character but similar tracheids are not uncommon in other Conifers. 

 Taxus. The difference in leaf-form and in the arrangement of the foHage is 

 well illustrated by Kirchner and Schroter*. The leaves have recurved margins, 

 a mucronate acute apex, and a small median vein. Torreya. In habit this 

 genus resembles Taxus but the leaves are longer (6 cm. in T. califomica); 

 there is a resin-canal below the vein and two conspicuous stomatal grooves on 

 the lower surface with papillose epidermal cells (fig. 694, B) : the midrib is not 

 prominent. Cephalotaxus. Leaves linear, more or less falcate, reaching a 

 length of 12 cm. in C. Henryi (fig. 709), with a prominent midrib and one canal 



Fig. 709. Cephalotaxus Henryi. (British Museum; \ nat. size.) M. S. 



(fig. 694, A) ; there are no stomatal grooves. Seeds like those of Torreya in 

 size and in the thick fleshy sarcotesta and inner shell ; the endosperm is not 

 ruminated. Rothert* has described an interesting departure from the usual 

 structure in the stem of C. koraina (according to Beissner = C. pedunculata 

 var. fastigiata) : a resin-canal occupies the centre of the pith and several short 

 tracheids occur internal to the edge of the xylem-cyhnder. There do not 

 appear to be any anatomical characters apart from the spiral bands of the 

 secondary tracheids by which the Taxineae can be distinguished from some 

 Cupressineae and other Conifers: xylem-parenchyma is said to be present 

 in both spring and summer wood of Ceplmlotaxiis drupacea, while it is unrepre- 

 sented in Taxics cuspidata and Torreya nvzifera^; the pits in the field vary 

 in number and may be simple or bordered and in the latter case the pore is 

 obUquely vertical. 



1 Robertson (06); Bernard (04) B. ; Stiles (12). 



2 Young, M. S. (10). " Gothan (05) p. 55. 

 * Kirchner, Loew, and Schroter (06) p. 69. 



5 Rothert(99). « Fujioka (1.3) 



S. IV 



11 



