A MANUAL OF THE GYMNOSPERMS (“EVER- 
GREENS”) OF IOWA, BOTH NATIVE AND 
CULTIVATED 
HENRY S. CONARD 
Series 2. Pteropsida 
Class 2. GymnospErmaE Naked seeded Pteropsidans. 
(Gymnos, naked; spernia, seed) 
Trees or shrubs with needle-shaped or scalelike lvs., or with 
broad 2-lobed fork-veined lvs. The pollen falls directly upon the 
ovule or young seed ; there is therefore no stigma or ovary. Wood 
close grained, without ducts (pores) ; “soft woods.” 
Stam. fl. conelike or catkin-like, short-lived. Seeds various, 
with fleshy endospern. Cambium in stems and roots, forming 
rings of wood. 
Note: This group includes the common “evergreens/’ as well as the 
deciduous larches, cypress and ginkgo. They are favorites for ornamental 
plantings and for windbreaks. There is no native species at Grinnell, and 
probably none nearer than Eldora. They are descendants of a vegetation 
that was dominant all over the earth in middle geologic time (Mesozoic). 
The wood of many species is of very great value. Though many of them 
are very hard and durable, these are all technically called “soft-woods.” 
1 . 
Key to genera of Gymnosperms 
Deciduous (shedding lvs. in winter) 
2 
1 . 
Evergreen 
4 
2. 
Cone-bearing ; lvs. clustered 
Earix 
2. 
No cones evident 
3 
3. 
Evs. needle-shaped ; bark black 
Taxodium 
3. 
Evs. broad, 2-lobed, fork-veined 
Ginkgo 
4. 
Evs. in bunches of 2, 3 or 5, long, needle-shaped 
Pinus 
4. 
Evs. one in a place 
5 
5. 
Evs. needle-shaped, slender 
6 
5. 
Evs. scalelike, opposite, pressed close to stem 
10 
6. 
Evs. spirally arranged 
7 
6 . 
Evs. opposite or whorled 
JUNIPERUS 
7. 
Evs. flat, with distinct upper and lower sides 
8 
7. 
Evs. 4-sided in cross section 
PlCEA 
8 . 
Each leaf continued down stem in a narrow ridge 
11 
8. 
Evs.- not extending down along stem 
9 
9. 
Eeaf scars slightly raised: buds chocolate brown, very sharp 
9. 
Eeaf scars not at all raised; buds yellowish, rounded 
PSEUDOTSUGA 
Abies 
10. 
Twigs 4-sided 
JuNTPERUS 
10. 
Twigs flat 
Thuja 
11. 
Tree; cones l-2cm. long 
Tsuga 
11. 
Sprawling shrub; no cones; seed in a red fleshy cup 
Taxus 
