Abietaceae

LARIX. PINUS. PICEA. TSUGA. ABIES.



Buds scaly; leaves evergreen and persistent for several years (except in

Larix), scattered along the twigs, spirally arranged or tufted,

linear, needle-shaped, or scale-like; sterile and fertile flowers

separate upon the same plant; stamens (subtended by scales) spirally

arranged upon a central axis, each bearing two pollen-sacs surmounted by

a broad-toothed connective; fertile flowers composed of spirally

arranged bracts or cover-scales, each bract subtending an ovuliferous

scale; cover-scale and ovuliferous scale attached at their bases;

cover-scale usually remaining small, ovuliferous scale enlarging,

especially after fertilization, gradually becoming woody or leathery and

bearing two ovules at its base; cones maturing (except in Pinus) the

first year; ovuliferous scales in fruit usually known as cone-scales;

seeds winged; roots mostly spreading horizontally at a short distance

below the surface.