REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 



127 



The male and female flowers are borne on different trees. The male 

 ones are in small roundish clusters in the axils of the leaves near the 

 ends of the branches. The female or fertile flowers are solitary near 

 the end of the twigs, very small at first but ripening into an oval, drupe- 

 like fruit 1 inch or more long, with a tough, rather leathery exterior, 

 next to which is a thin hard shell, and occupied by a seed similar in 

 shape to a nutmeg, and. like that, mottled within. 



It is a singular fact tliat this tree is nowhere else found than in the 

 few localities above named, and even there is in danger of extinction. 

 It belongs to an order of which there are but three other species known 

 to exist, of which one is in California and two in Japan. It is believed 

 to be a remnant of an early flora, when a more intimate land connec- 

 tion existed between the eastern and western continents. Plate IV. 



Mr. A. H. Curtis, of Jacksonville, Fla., has recently investigated the 

 locality of this tree, and he gives the following accouut of it : 



Leaving the State of Georgia either by the Chattahoochee or Flint Rivers, we find 

 ourselves on a turbid, rapid river composed of their combined waters and named the 

 Appalachicola. Behind us, like a large island, rises the wall of verdure whichrecently 

 separated these waters. The western bank is steep and of uniform height. A shady 

 road follows the bank a mile or two, and affords a most beautiful drive. This road 

 leads from Marianna and other settlements to a ferry. At the eastern end of the ferry 

 is a yellow bluff, on which stands the ferryman's house. Here also is a steamboat 

 landing for Chattahoochee, a village situated a mile or more from the river. Follow- 

 ing the road leading eastward we cross about half a mile of wooded river bottom, un- 

 der the shade of grand black oaks, water-oaks, sycamores, and cotton woods. After 

 crossing this bottom we commence the ascent of a long and tiresome hill. After trav- 

 ersing a poor gullied pine wood we find ourselves at the summit of the hill. Here 

 there is as great a change of scene as if we had been transferred suddenly from the 

 wild country of Eastern Tennessee to the wide-spreading cotton fields of Middle Ala- 

 bama. In the foreground of the scene is the little village of Chattahoochee, and about 

 a mile beyond are the old United States arsenal buildings, now used as an insane 

 asylum. In the center of the village we find the house of Dr. Scull, who owns all the 

 country we have passed through aud much besides, a thousand acres or more, much of 

 it being heavily timbered. From the doctor we obtain instructions for finding and per- 

 mission to cut what he calls savin, which my axman calls stinking cedar, the same 

 being called by botanists Torreya taxifolia. Taking a northwestern course from the 

 town, after passing through a dense woodland we find near the base of a steep rocky 

 hillside the object of our search. There can be no mistaking the trees, for they are 

 very different from anything we ever saw before — somewhat like the spruces aud firs, 

 more like the yew, yet very different. The leaves of the Torreya are about an inch in 

 length, dark, shiny, rigid, and very sharp-pointed. They are borne in flat sprays, the 

 lower branches nearly touching the ground. The fruit or nut of the tree is still more 

 remarkable. It is about an inch in length, and resembles a green plum both in color 

 and form. It is simply a naked seed, without a vestige of cone or other envelope. In 

 this respect the Torreya and Taxus (yew) differ from our other conifors, and constitute 

 a distinct tribe. The tree is pyramidal in form, of somber appearance, and appears 

 strangely out of place in this latitude among oaks, beeches, and poplars. No doubt 

 the Torreya is a relic of a past epoch, when it may have had a wide range at the time 

 when the elephant and mastodon were denizens of this country. 



In wood and bark the Torreya resembles the cypress — still more the firs. The wood 

 is extremely durable, almost imperishable. Dr. Scull showed me Torreya posts which 

 had been in the ground sixty years and were still quite sound. The wood, especially 

 when freshly cut, emits a strong and offensive odor; probably this is also offensive 

 to the "tooth of time." Most of the best Torreyas have been cut for post timber. 

 About a mile south of the first locality I found another growth of these trees. Ten 

 miles farther south there is a larger quantity, near the landing called Aspalaga, and 

 it is also found on Sweetwater Creek, ten or fifteen miles farther down tho river. 

 Possibly it may grow in other spots, but I have no knowledge of its occurrence 

 except at these three places near the eastern bank of the Appalachicola River. 



Taxus Floridana— Florida Yew. 



This species of yew occupies the same region of country as the pre- 

 viously described Torreya. It is a small tree, usually growing from 10 



