Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  1896.  J 
North  American  Conifer ce. 
23 
developing  into  dry  strobile-fruits.  The  seeds  have  a  woody  or 
leathery  testa,  no  aril  are  attached  until  ripe  to  the  upper  surface  of 
the  macrosporophylls  or  to  the  placental  scales  borne  by  them, 
and  are  dispersed  by  the  wind  after  the  scales  have  diverged  to  set 
them  free. 
The  sub-order  is  divided  in  the  following  families: 
Family  i. —  The  Araucariece,  mostly  southern  hemisphere  trees  of 
pine-like  aspect.  They  are  characterized  by  dicecism,  by  wingless 
pollen-grains,  and  by  simple  one-seeded  fruit  scales.  Here  belong 
the  genera  Dammara  (Dammar  trees)  and  Araucaria.  Four  species 
are  well  known,  Dammara  australis,  Araucaria  brasiliana,  A.  imbri- 
cata,  and  A.  excelsa. 
Family  2. —  The  Abietinece. — These  are  mostly  natives  of  the  tem- 
perate and  colder  portions  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  They  are 
characterized  by  cone-scales  which  are  not  simple,  but  double  ;  that 
is,  on  the  upper  surface  of  one  scale,  near  its  base,  is  borne  another, 
usually  a  larger  one,  called  the  placental  scale.  To  this,  near  its 
base,  are  attached  two  ovules,  each  with  its  micropyle  pointing  toward 
the  base  of  the  scale.  The  species  are  all  monoecious.  Their  pollen 
grains  bear  an  opposite  pair  of  bladdery  expansions,  outgrowths  of 
the  extine. 
The  following  are  the  genera : 
(a)  Abies y  the  Silver  Firs. — Their  branches  are  whorled  and  there 
are  no  dwarf  shoots.  Their  foliage  leaves  are  flattened  and  marked 
on  the  dorsal  surface  with  two  parallel  white  lines.  The  fruit  is  an 
erect  cone,  bearing  flat  placental  scales ;  it  matures  in  one  year  from 
pollination,  and  the  scales  fall  away  from  the  axis  to  shed  the  seeds 
when  ripe.    The  two  kinds  of  scales  are  nearly  equal. 
Here  belong  A.  balsamea  and  A.  Fraseri  (the  balsam  firs),  A. 
pectinata  (the  silver  fir),  A.  Pinsapo,  from  Spain,  A.  Nordmannia, 
from  the  Caucasus,  A.  cephalonica,  from  southeastern  Europe,  A. 
amabilis,  A.  magnifica,  and  other  species  from  western  America. 
(b)  Picea,  the  Spruces  or  Spruce-Firs. — The  species  differ  from 
those  of  Abies  in  having  four-angled  foliage  leaves  which  are  decur- 
rent,  and  form  ridges  on  the  branches  ;  in  having  pendant  fruit-cones, 
which  fall  entire  when  ripe,  and  in  having  the  placental  scales  much 
larger  than  the  microsporophylls.  The  leaves  possess  two  lateral 
resin  ducts.  The  following  are  examples :  P.  excelsa  (Norway 
spruce),  P.  alba  (white  spruce),  P.  nigra  (black  spruce),  and  P.  pun- 
gens  (blue  spruce).    The  last  three  are  North  American  species. 
