Female 1 Flower ’ in Coniferae, 41 
orders of Gnetaceae and Cycadaceae, as also with the most 
nearly related fossil plants. 
In the Abietineae the female organs are arranged in elon¬ 
gated cones, very compact and woody in character when mature. 
Their bulk is largely made up by large, woody scales, usually 
Fig. 1. Diagram of normal ‘flower’ of Abietineae. 
b = bract; ss = seminiferous scale ; sp = sporangia; 
ax 1 — primary axis of cone. 
thickened and enlarged externally and known as the ‘ semini¬ 
ferous scales,’ each bearing on its upper surface at the base 
two inverted sporangia. The seminiferous scale is in the 
axil of a very much smaller 
bract, with which it is usu¬ 
ally fused at the very base 
(Fig. 1). 
In the Araucarieae there 
is but a single scale repre¬ 
senting the bract, with (in 
Araucaria) an outgrowth 
resembling a ligule on its 
upper surface, and a single 
sporangium enclosed within 
the tissues of the scale, ai 
If sp 
Fig. 2. Diagram of 1 flower ’ of Araucaria, 
b — bract; / 2 = ligule-like seminiferous 
scale; sp = sporangium. (After Eichler.) 
situated some distance above 
