COKIFER^, OR CONE-BEARIKG TREES. 247 



plumosa, a single branch shooting out from the side of a large 

 plant, and instead of retaining the original form, it pushed out 

 horizontally, and unlike the usual light, feathery foliage, char- 

 acteristic of the variety, the leaves in this were Hat and closely 

 pressed to the stems, presenting altogether, in the form at least, 

 the appearance of a Lawson Cypress. This branch was layered 

 and removed, and is now a tree more than twice the hight and 

 size of the parent plant at its side. The leaves have the golden 

 color or the original, but the plant has the graceful habit of the 

 Lawson Cypress. Furthermore I have found it quite difficult 

 to propagate from cuttings, while, as is well known, the jparent 

 is almost as readily propagated in this way as a willow. This 

 freak among the Retinisporas in my own grounds has rather 

 lessened than increased my confidence in some of the attempts 

 that have been made to elaborate or correctly classify the dif- 

 ferent species and varieties of this genus. 



SEQUOIA, Endl. — Redwood — Mammoth Tree. 



A genus of only two species, both of which belong to CaK- 

 fornia. Flowers monoecious, terminal, solitary. Staminate 

 flowers small, partly enclosed with scale-like lea^^es. Fertile 

 ameuts, oblong-ovato, erect, the cone maturing the second year, 

 woody, oval, the scales divergent at right angles from the axis, 

 thick and wedge-shaped. Seeds flat, oblong-ovate, with a 

 spongy margin. 



Scqnoia scmpmu'cnSj Endl. — Eed Wood. — Leaves a half inch 

 to an inch long, bright green, slightly silvery beneath, spread- 

 ing in two rows. Cones oblong, only about an inch long, soli- 

 tary and terminal, with numerous thick, rough scales. Seeds 

 three to five under each scale. One of the most valuable trees 

 in California, occupying the Coast Ranges from Oregon to San 

 Luis Obispo, appearing to thrive best where exposed to the fogs 

 from the ocean. A tree growing from two to three hundred 

 feet high, with a very straight cylindrical stem. Wood a rich 

 brownish-red color, light, but strong and durable, and very 

 straight grained, easily worked, and takes a high polish. Only 

 succeeds in our Southern States, scarcely hardy even in Vir- 

 ginia. 



S. gigantea, Decaisne.— Big Tree, Great Tree of California. — 

 Leaves pale green, and much smaller than in the last, not in 

 rows or ranks, slightly spreading or closely appressed, ovate or 

 acuminate, or lanceolate, rigid and pungent. Cones ovate- 



