PHANEROGAMIA. 225 
gigantea), and grows in a few valleys on the western slope of the 
Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. It attains a height of more 
than 100 metres (800 feet) and a diameter of 6 to 10 metres (20 to 
30 feet). The other species is the common Redwood (S. semper- 
virens), confined to the coast-range mountains of California. It is 
but little inferior to the preceding in size, and its wood is extensively 
used for building and other purposes. 
In the Southern Hemisphere the Kauri pine (Agathis australis) of 
New Zealand, the Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria excelsa) of the 
South Pacific Ocean, and others represent a group of conifers closely 
related to those which were abundant in ancient geological times. 
475, The Joint-Firs (Order Ginetacew) include a few 
undershrubs or small trees, mostly natives of the warmer 
parts of the world. Their curious structure is far too difli- 
cult to be taken up here. 
Crass II. Awneiosprrm® (the Angiosperms). 
476. The plants of this class have, in most cases, more 
or less elongated stems; these are solid at first, and in the 
great majority of cases they remain so. They usually bear 
ample leaves, with parallel or netted veins. 
477. Their reproductive organs are mostly collected into 
definite and distinct flowers, which often show great beauty 
of form and color. The pollen-bearing leaves (stamens) 
resemble those of the Gymnosperms, but the ovule-bearing 
leaves (carpophylls) are folded into a closed vessel (ovary). 
478. Most Angiosperms are terrestrial and chlorophyll- 
bearing plants; there are, however, many aquatic and aerial 
species and a considerable number of parasites. They 
range, also, in size and duration, from minute annuals, a 
millimetre in extent, to enormous trees, 50 to 150 metres 
high and many centuries old. 
479. We have seen (pp. 216-218) that in the Gymnosperms 
the flower consists of a stem upon which are the leaves 
