548 Takeda . — Morphology of the 
invariably decussate and connate at the base, as are their leaves also. But 
this character does not occur in any other group of the Gymnosperms, 
except that opposite cone-scales are found in certain members of Cupres- 
sineae. 
The Nervation. The vascular supply in the bracts strikingly differs 
from the nervation of the leaf, inasmuch as the shape of these two organs 
differs, yet there exists a feature of homology between them. The leaf and 
cotyledon receive the paired bundles, and so does the bract. In the case of 
the leaf, the primary design of the nervation is subsequently altered by 
the formation of the new additional bundles, whereas in the cotyledon the 
primitive character is retained. 1 Supposing the main bundles in the 
cotyledon were telescoped and the transverse veins were to end blindly, 
then the nervation of the bract would be produced. 
The bract at the node of the inflorescence is very thick in texture, 
short, and broadly connate. It has a nervation quite similar to that of 
the other bracts, except that this is less freely branched. 
The Epidermis. The epidermal cells of the adaxial side of the bract are 
flat and smooth (PI. XLI, Fig. 3). The outer wall of the cell is fairly thick 
and chiefly consists of cellulose, and is uniformly covered with thin cuticle. 
The epidermal cells of the abaxial side are not flat, but are rather uneven 
owing to the vault-like shape of each cell (Fig. 2). The outer wall is com- 
paratively thin. That of the female cone chiefly consists of cellulose 
covered with a thin layer of cuticle, while that of the male cone shows two 
layers ; they are the inner cellulose and the outer cuticularized layer. 
Minute granules of calcium oxalate are present in the outer epidermal cells. 
In the female cone-bract they are deposited in the cellulose layers of 
the outer wall, whilst in the male cone-bract they are impregnated in 
the cuticularized layer of the outer wall as well as in the inner wall, which is 
chiefly composed of cellulose (Figs. 2, 3). In the case of the bract subtend- 
ing the cone-stalk the epidermal cells of both sides are practically flat 
(Fig. 4). The nature of the cell-wall and that of the deposit of calcium oxalate 
of this kind of bract entirely correspond to those of the cone-bract of 
its own inflorescence, namely the bract of the male inflorescence has the 
cuticularized layer, and the calcium oxalate deposited in both the outer and 
inner cell-walls, while in that of the female inflorescence the cuticularized 
layer and the crystals of calcium oxalate in the inner epidermal wall are 
absent. 
Each epidermal cell is generally quadrangular in the surface view, and 
is elongated longitudinally resembling that of the cotyledon. 2 
In the outer epidermal cells, especially of the cone-bracts, chloroplasts 
1 Takeda, H. : Some Points in the Anatomy of the Leaf in Welwitschia mirabilis , in Ann. 
Bot., xxvii, 1913, p. 348. 
2 Takeda, H., 1. c., p. 349. 
