44 FAMILIAR TREES 



single two-chambered anther ; and when the pollen 

 is discharged the whole catkin falls. The female 

 cones on the other hand remain, of course, until the 

 seeds they contain have been ripened and dis- 

 charged. They occur generally in twos or threes, 

 each, when young, of a purplish colour and an ovoid 

 outline, tapering conically to a point and at first erect 

 and stalkless, but after fertilisation hanging by short 

 stalks in a drooping position. The scales that make 

 up the cone are not many in number : their points 

 wither, and they become woody so as to present at 

 the surface of the cone a series pf hard rhombic or 

 roughly-hexagonal plates, known as " apophyses," 

 each rising in a re-curved central point, forming col- 

 lectively well-defined spirals closely packed together. 

 It is not, as a rule, until the second or third year 

 that the seeds ripen : in fact, the pollen, when it has 

 fallen upon . the ovule, or immature seed, sends out 

 a tube which takes more than a year in penetrating 

 to the embryo-sac. The scales of the cone the5 bend 

 outwards, so as to let the winged seeds escape from 

 between them. Thus it i& that the close packing of 

 the scales serves, until the seeds are ripe, every pur- 

 pose of the closed ovary which distinguishes Angio- 

 sperms from " gymnospermous " plants. 



The seeds, which in some allied species are large 

 enough to be of not a little value as human food, 

 occur in pairs at the base of each scale, and are 

 furnished with a brown membranous wing three 

 times their length. This closely resembles, and per- 

 forms the same purpose as, the " samaras," or winged 

 fruits, of Elms and other trees, the disposal of the 



