SECT. II 



PHANEROGAMIA 



443 



Colophonium, Ol. teeebinthinae, Pix liquida ; from Pinus Pumilio, Ol. Pini 



PUMILIONIS. 



Family Taxaeeae. — Formation of cones imperfect ; the ovules 

 project beyond THE CARPELS, or the latter may be absent ; the ripe 

 seed possesses an aril, and some- 

 times also a succulent seed-coat 

 (Figs. 374, 375). 



Taxus baccata, the Yew (Figs. 374, 

 375), is an evergreen tree devoid of 

 resin, sometimes attaining a height 

 of 10 m. The shoots are all elongated 

 and bear flat needles, arranged right 

 and left, in two ranks. The male 

 flower is axillary and consists of ten 

 shield-shaped staminal leaves united 

 in a spherical head surmounting the 

 apex of a short stalk beset with scales 

 below. The female flower also termi- 

 nates the apex of a scaly, axillary 

 stalk. The stalk, however, in this 

 case is composed of a lower portion 

 ending blindly, the primary shoot, 

 and an upper lateral secondary shoot, 

 which terminates in a single erect 

 ovule. Carpels are wanting. The 

 ripe seed is enclosed in a red cupular 

 aril (Kg. 274). 



Geographical Distribution. — 

 The Taxaeeae grow for the most part in the southern hemisphere. Ginkgo biloba 

 (Salisburya adiantifolia), sometimes found in cultivation, is indigenous to Eastern 

 Asia. In appearance it resembles a foliage tree, and is characterised by its fan- 

 shaped, deciduous leaves, which are cleft dichotomously. The seeds are about the 

 size of a plum and have a succulent coat. 



Poisonous. — The young shoots and the seeds of Taxus baccata; the red 

 enveloping aril, however, is harmless, and often eaten by children. 



-Tijjus baccata : branch with ripe seeds 

 (£ nat. size). — Poisonous. 



Order 3. Gnetineae 



One family .- Gnetaeeae. — Flowers with perigone ; woody plants, 

 without resin, and with true vessels. 



In the presence of a perigone, which, however, is very small and 

 insignificant; in the indication of a union of the sexes, in an in- 

 florescence in the case of Gnetum, in a female flower of Wdwttsehia , 

 in the possession of true vessels in the wood and sometimes of 

 reticulately-veined leaves (Gnetum), the Gnetaeeae show a resemblance 

 to the Dicotyledons, and may accordingly be regarded as the most 

 highly developed of all the Gymnosperms. 



The three genera included in this family differ considerably from each other. 



