xxxii SYNOPSIS OF NATURAL OEDEES 



Second Class. GYMNOSPERMS. 



Fl. tinisexual, periantli none or incomplete. Ovnles free, not enclosed in an 

 ovary, fertilized by the pollen-tu"be entering the micropyle or a tube formed 

 by the integnment. Seeds naked, embryo straight with copious endosperm. 



113. Gnetacece, p. 685. Stem and branches jointed at the nodes. L. opposite or 

 reduced to a short sometimes 3-4-dentate sheath. !F1. nnisexiial, $ one erect oYiiley 

 integument single, prolonged into a tnhe. Ovule enclosed in a perianth, which nsnally 

 becomes fleshy in fr. 



114. Conifer (E, p. 688. Branches often Tvhorled, 1. alternate, usnally acicnlar, often 

 tufted, n. imisextial, without perianth, S : decidiions catkins, with antheriferous 

 scales. Seeds at the base of carpellary scales, often forming a cone. Endosperm mostly 

 oily, cotyledons 2 or more. 



115. CycadacecB, p. 697 (Cycas). Trunk cylindric, sometimes branched, with terminal 

 tnfts of rigid, pinnate leaves, pith and bark large. Fl. dicEcions, at the apex of trunk 

 among the leaves, 6 in erect cones with numerous thick scales, bearing on the under- 

 surface od globose anther-cells. $ : carpophylls densely woolly in crowded whorls 

 around the top of trunk, each with 1-5 pairs of ovules on its edge. 



