PINACEiE. 



603 



Fig. 265. 



sonous, and that two of his crew suf- 

 fered from eating it in New Guinea. 

 C. revoluta also affords a kind of 

 Sago, of secondary quality ; which is 

 used in the Molucca islands, &c. The 

 stem, as in the last-mentioned species, 

 furnishes a clear gum. C. inermis 

 has much the same properties. 



The roots of several species of 

 Zamia, as Z. integrifolia, media, 

 angustifolia^pumila^furfuroxea, &c. , 

 also abound in a fecula resembling the 

 best Arrow-root. Dr. Lindley states 

 one of the best varieties of this sub- 

 stance prepared in the Bahamas is from 

 one of these species. What is termed 

 "Florida Arrow Root" is obtained from the first two and perhaps from others. 

 They have large, somewhat spherical roots, which are succulent and fleshy, 

 abounding in a gummy juice. They were much used by the aborigines, by 

 whom they were called Tuckahoe. They now are known under the name 

 of Coonti, and when properly treated afford an excellent fecula, having all 

 the qualities of the best Bermuda Arrow Root. (Carson in Pereira, ii. 169.) 

 The fruit has a coating of an orange-coloured pulp, which Rafinesque states 

 forms a rich edible food. 



The large seeds of Dion edule are said to furnish a fecula much esteemed 

 as food in Mexico. At the Cape of Good Hope various species of Encepha- 

 lartos are employed by the natives as food, and are known under the name 

 of Caff re bread. 



C. revoluta. 



Order 103.— PINACE^E.— Lindley. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious, usually amentaceous. Sterile flowers : consisting of 

 1 or more (often monadelphous) stamens, with neither calyx nor corolla, arranged in a de- 

 ciduous catkin around a common rachis ; anthers 2 or many-lobed, with a longitudinal 

 dehiscence. Fertile : in cones. Ovary merely a flat scale, without style or stigma, in 

 the axil of a membranous bract. Ovule naked ; in pairs or several on the face of the 

 scale, inverted. Fruit varying in the different tribes. 



These are trees or evergreen shrubs, with a branched trunk, abounding in a 

 resinous juice. Wood with the tissue marked with circular disks. Leaves 

 linear, acerose or lanceolate, entire, scattered, or fascicled. They are found 

 in all parts of the world, but are most abundant in temperate regions. It is 

 one of the most important orders, both on account of its wood and its resinous 

 secretions. 



Tribe 1. Abietin^e. — Fertile aments formed of imbricated scales, having a pair of 

 ovules at base, with the foramen turned downwards. Sterile flowers with the pollen oval- 

 curved. Fruit a strobile. Integument of seed coriaceous and woody ; more or less ad- 

 herent to the scale. Embryo in the axis of fleshy and oily albumen, with 2 — 15 cotyle- 

 dons. 



This is by far the most useful of the tribes, as it contains the greater num- 

 ber of the species affording the useful woods and resins. 



