CONIFERS. 



61 



our climate, and of no economic value as a timber tree ; but in a good 

 healthy soil, a warm locality, and well-sheltered situation, it would 

 form a very interesting and most graceful pendulous-branched specimen, 

 in any collection of the firs and pines. 



§ 5. CuprESPINNATA: The Quilled or Feathery-sprayed 

 Cypress. 



From Latin cupressus, the cypress, and pinna, a quill or feather; 

 resemblance of their foliage or spray. A technically compounded term, 

 used to classify and distinguish this section of the S.D. Cup>ressine(B, 



Flowers, male and female, generally on the same plant, but sepa- 

 rate ; exceptionally together. 



Leaves, flat, linear, trigonal, awl-shaped, or scale-formed; in one 

 species generally two-rowed, in the other generally scattered ; in the 

 one species they are deciduous or annual, in the other they are sub- 

 evergreen or perennial. 



Cones, egg-shaped, globular, or oblong ; more or less rough surfaced 

 and ligneous ; seeds generally two or five under a scale ; variously 

 shaped and winged. 



In this section we have two specifically distinct conifers ; a sub- 

 evergreen and a deciduous species ; again, we have a small- sized tree 

 and a dwarf shrub. 



CUPRESPINNATA DiSTICHA : The Deciduous Feathery- 

 sprayed Cypress. 



Leaves, quilled or feather-like, having from one to three dozen 

 leaves on each side of the quill or feather stem ; and on the shoots or 

 branch stems the leaves are thinly scattered all round, while on the 

 feather stems they are regularly disposed in two horizontal rows and 

 closely set, somewhat overlapping each other, gradually diminishing in 

 size as they near the point, forming a perfect feather ; the true or 

 individual leaves are flat, linear, slightly twisted at base, tapering to a 

 somewhat sharp point, thin-edged, and showing a small mid-rib on 

 each face, but without silvery bands, of various sizes, from one-eighth 

 to six-eighths of an inch long, and from one-half to one-and-a-half 

 lines broad ; at first soft, light green, changing in autumn to reddish- 

 green, and before falling olf assuming a dull, sombre red. 



Cones, roundish-ovate in form, and from one to two inches broad ; 

 hard and uneven surfaced ; the scales are thick, raised in the centre, 

 dull brown in colour, but somewhat striped with yellowish-brown ; the 

 seeds are generally compressed, and two under each scale. 



This is a most distinct and beautiful tree, and popularly known in 



