164 CYPRESSES AND JUNIPERS 
whole of their length. They are ‘then described, 
according to Cocker, as appressed.. In others they 
fall and break away at the summit of their growth 
into a state of disarray from their hold on the branch- 
lets. When that happens they are described.by the 
masters of the Arts Botanical as free at the apex. 
The apex—that is, the top of the leaf—varies in, 
shape ; sometimes it is obtuse, at others acute or 
triangular in its outlines. 
The shape of the leaf if closely looked at indulges 
in variations. Sometimes it is (1)spatulate. ‘“ Spatu-. 
late” is derived from the Latin word which stands for 
a little spade, and it is generally connected in more 
ordinary minds with the form and feature of a beaver’s- 
tail arrangement. (2) At others it is ovate or egg- 
shaped ; or (3) awl-shaped, a name derived from a 
pointed instrument to be found in every tool-chest 
of a village carpenter, and an implement. of familiarity. 
to the world at large. (4) While in others it is 
described as boat-shaped, in form familiar as an 
Indian dugout or canoe. 
In some cases of flat-leaved Cypresses the facial 
leaves on the upper and the corresponding leaves on 
the lower surface (described as dorso-ventral) are 
of a different shape from those on the lateral sides. 
For instance, on the branchlets of the Thujopsis 
Dolabrata, a branchlet upon which it is very.easy to 
discern the shape, the dorso-ventral leaves are spatu- 
late while the lateral leaves are boat-shaped. Some-' 
times these herbaceous branchlets have leaves ar- 
ranged round them in four ranks, sometimes in two: 
ranks, and arranged. opposite to each other. The’. 
white lines or streaks on the under-side of the leaf, 
present in some of the species, absent in others, help 
greatly the process of differentiation. For instance, 
under the leaf of the Lawson will be noticed these 
white lines, but under the leaves of the Nootkatensis, 
