MESOZOIC ERA: THE AGE OF REPTILES 



567 



Gymnosperms. — The 



conifers (evergreen trees 

 of to-day) lived on the 

 higher lands during the 

 Mesozoic and were repre- 

 sented by pines, cy- 

 presses, yews, and arau- 

 carias (monkey-puzzle), 

 the last being especially 

 abundant in the Jurassic. 

 The sequoia (redwoods 

 and " big trees " of Cali- 

 fornia) had a notable de- 

 velopment in the Upper 

 Cretaceous. Because of 

 the resinous character of 

 the wood of the conifer- 

 ous trees, it was often Fig. 527. — Diagram of a complete cone of Ben- 



preserved, sometimes in a , nettit f' muc ! 1 / k nlarge(1 i 1 (After Widand.) The 

 r large leaves, M, bear pollen sacks, and the central 



remarkable degree of per- cone s [ s seed-bearing. 



fection. On the whole, 



the Mesozoic conifers were not very different in general appearance 

 from those of to-day. The early Triassic forms, however, were some- 

 what dwarfed, while those of the later Triassic were gigantic trees, 

 often over 100 feet in length and from four to eight feet in diameter. 

 The maidenhair tree, ginkgo, was abundant and had a world-wide 



distribution in the Lower 

 Mesozoic. This once nu- 

 merous family is now rep- 

 resented by but one spe- 

 cies, which probably would 

 have been long since ex- 

 tinct had it not been 

 preserved by cultivation 

 about the Buddhist 

 temples in Japan and 

 China. The modern ginkgo 

 comes of a long-lived 

 family. Evidence is at 

 hand indicating that, if 



Fig. 528. — Leaves of the modem ginkgo tree. 



