no GNETACEAE 



removed in the course of time, thus exposing the swollen 

 apex of the stem ; hence one sometimes finds old plants 

 showing 3 to 4 feet of their stem above the ground. Some 

 of the largest specimens have a diameter of three feet and 

 leaves up to ten feet long. The leaves owe their durability 

 largely to the numerous hbrovascular bundles which traverse 

 them longitudinally, and to the numerous spicular cells 

 which are scattered through the tissues, these cells being 

 either simple or branched and highly impregnated with 

 oxalate of lime. The colour of the male flowers, when 

 shedding their pollen, is a deep salmon, while that of the 

 female cones is a glaucous green with a trace of red at the 

 edges, which deepens and spreads a little during the ripening 

 process, while the green assumes a more yellowish tint. 



The only genus. 



Welwitschia Hook. fil. 



