CHAPTER XXIV 
SPERMATOPHYTES 
Material in this group ranges from structures so delicate that 
they require more skill and patience than the coenocytic algae to 
structures so hard that the method for rock-sections is the best way 
to get preparations. We cannot hope to give even approximately 
complete directions for making preparations, but must be content 
to give a few hints which may prove helpful in collecting material 
and in securing mounts of the more important structures. We 
shall consider the gymnosperms and the angiosperms separately, 
although in many respects the technic is the same for both. 
GYMNOSPERMS—CYCADALES 
Cycas revoluta, the Sago Palm, can be found in almost any large 
greenhouse which keeps decorative plants. The large conservatories 
of city parks may keep, in addition, some species of Ceratozamia or 
Encephalartos. Only one cycad, Zamia , occurs in the United States, 
and it is confined to Florida. In Encephalartos and Ceratozamia the 
development of the ovule, and even the development of the female 
gametophyte up to the fertilization period, takes place quite naturally 
in the greenhouse, where pollination is not likely to occur; but in other 
genera, the female cones, or at least their ovules, nearly always 
abort unless fertilization takes place. The vegetative structures are 
natural enough, but, with the exception of leaves and small roots, are not 
so available, since material of the stem would mean damage to the plant. 
The Vegetative Structures.—All the vegetative structures cut 
rather easily. 
The stem.—Zamia / which grows in various parts of Florida, is 
the most available material. Directions for handling the stem are 
given on page 132. 
Stems of the larger cycads are not likely to be obtained, except 
in the field, and they are confined to tropical and subtropical regions. 
i Material of Zamia can be obtained at $1.00 a plant (express, collect) by addressing the 
Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. This 
is not a commercial matter, but an accommodation to botanists. 
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