THE TRUE CYPRESSES. 101 



pointsj one line long, and of a glaucous green colour. Branches 

 spreading out horizontal, much divided, reflexed at the ends, 

 scattered, and rather distant along the stem ; lateral branches 

 flat, subdivided, two-rowed, and spreading widely. Branchlets 

 four-sided, straight, regularly placed in two rows along the 

 sides of the lateral branches, of a bright glaucous green, and 

 thickly covered with small imbricated foliage. Cones solitarj', 

 rather small, globular, and of a brownish colour, covered with 

 a glaucous bloom, half an inch broad, and rather more in length, 

 on very short foot-stalks, and mostly composed of six or eight 

 scales, with a small terminal prickle or rudimentary scale on 

 each, near the apex. Scales convex, shield- shaped, rounded on 

 the margins, rarely angular except on the upper ones, in op- 

 posite cross pairs, the four lower or outer ones being connected 

 at their base, much the largest, and flattened on the sides, 

 while the inner or central ones are long, narrow, shield-shaped 

 on the top, and spring from the centre of the others, and 

 generally abortive or one- seeded; while the alternate pairs of 

 the others contain two or three seeds under each, of a brown 

 colour, and nearly flat. Seeds obovate, sometimes a little flat- 

 tened on one or two sides, hard-sheUed, and with triquetrous 

 wings. 



A handsome tree, 50 feet high, with horizontal spreading 

 branches, reflected at their extremities, and frequently pen- 

 dent. It is found on the mountains of Mexico, particularly in 

 the forests of Tasco and Tehuilotepic, at an elevation of 5500 

 feet. Mr. Udhe found it a handsome tree, 60 feet high, with a 

 dense, bushy head, on the Orizaba and Real del Mont moun- 

 tains, in high exposed situations, at an elevation of from 6000 

 to 7000 feet. 



This kind has a number of small white specks irregularly 

 scattered over the smaller spray, which form scale-like glands 

 on the backs of the minute leaves. 



It is one of the hardiest and finest of the Mexican kinds. 



