TAXONOMIC TREATMENT OF FAMILIES base of each bract (rarely only a single seed per Key to the families cone) 4 This Handbook recognizes eight families within the 3b. Seed cones either with much reduced, obscure conifers (currently with 70 genera and 614 species); scales (whether bracts or seed scales, in a few some of their diagnostic characters are here used in instances with many very small bracts) or lack- 43 the key to families. If the family to which a species ing any kind of scales and reduced to a single, has been assigned is not known to the user, it is nec- terminal seed with a surrounding epimatium essary to start with this key and then proceed to the or arillus 5 key to genera under the family determined. If the 4a. True leaves scale-like or acicular (needle-like), family is known, one can proceed directly to the lat- cataphylls absent, phyllodes absent ter key to determine the genus. Keys to species with- Cupressaceae in genera are provided under each genus; the species 4b. True leaves reduced to tiny cataphylls (usually are arranged in alphabetical order (A-Z) throughout brown scales); phyllodes (pseudo-leaves) in the using the Latin binomials, which enables the user to axils of these green, needle-like, growing rhyth- find the genus determined using the keys with ease. mically in pseudo-whorls on shoots Sciadopityaceae 1a. Seed cones with seed scales in the axils of bracts 5a. Seed cones reduced to a single seed; seed ter- (bracts can be much reduced in mature, woody minally placed at a scaly dwarf shoot, partly or cones but are conspicuous in immature cones completely surrounded by a succulent or fleshy at early stages of development); i.e. cones clear- aril Taxaceae ly compound and never reduced; seeds two on 5b. Seed cones apparent, with much reduced, the adaxial (upper) side of each fertile scale; obscure scales (usually bracts; if these are adult green leaves acicular-linear Pinaceae seemingly absent, seed on a stout or fleshy ‘pe- 1b. Seed cones with seed scales fused with bracts duncle’) or in a few instances with many, very (bracts make up the bulk of the cone), or with small bracts 6 bracts only (which may be much enlarged, 6a. Pollen cones aggregated in more or less globose swollen and/or woody at maturity), or with capitulae (‘heads’); bracts of (reduced) seed scales obscure, much reduced or absent; seeds cones decussate Cephalotaxaceae either single or more than two per fertile scale; 6b. Pollen cones solitary or clustered but not in glo- adult green leaves scale-like, or acicular, or with bose capitulae; bracts of (reduced) seed cones a distinct lamina, or replaced by phylloclades alternate or helically arranged (but sometimes (phyllodes) 2 seemingly absent being enveloped by a swollen 2a. Seed cones with seed scales fused with bracts, receptacle) 7 or with bracts only which are much enlarged 7a. True leaves scale-like, acicular or with a dis- and often swollen at maturity and may then tinct lamina, always simple; cataphylls absent; form a compact, globose cone 3 phylloclades absent; cones arising in the axils 2b Seed cones with seed scales fused with bracts; of leaves Podocarpaceae bracts forming the largest part of the cone 7b. True leaves reduced to tiny cataphylls, usually scales; a single inverted seed per scale soon deciduous; phylloclades (pseudo-leaves) Araucariaceae leaf-like, green, simple or compound; cones 3a. Seed cones consisting of bracts forming the arising on the edges of phylloclades or on sepa- cone scales only (sometimes with rudimentary rate determinate shoots (axillary to bracts) seed scales only visible at very early stages of Phyllocladaceae development); seeds 1-many, axillary or on the World of conifers.indd 43 3-3-2010 17:02:16 Descriptions of families and keys to genera Three genera: Agathis (17 spp.), Araucaria (19 spp.) and Wollemia (1 sp.); total 37 species. Araucariaceae Henkel & W. Hochst., Syn. Nadelhölz.: xvii, 1. 1865. (nom. cons.). Type: Distribution Araucaria Juss. Malesia: all major islands except Jawa and Lesser Sunda Islands; Australia: New South Wales, Queens- Description land. SW Pacific: new Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Dioecious or monoecious evergreen, highly resin- Norfolk Island, New Zealand (North Island). South 44 ous trees. Tree architecture according to Massart’s America: SE Brazil, NE Argentina; S Chile, SW Ar- and Rauh’s models. Resin canals in bark, leaves and gentina (Andes). seed cones. Bark hard and smooth, exfoliating with rounded or irregular flakes (Agathis), rough and ex- Key to the genera foliating in horizontal strips and eventually deeply fissured (Araucaria), or forming many irregular 1a. Bark hard and smooth, exfoliating with round- pustules (Wollemia). Branches in rhytmic pseudo­ ed or irregular flakes; leaves distinctly petiolate; whorls, spreading and plagiotropic (Massart’s seed cones globose, with imbricate scales lack- model) or ascending to become orthotropic (Rauh’s ing an extended apex Agathis model), sometimes profusely reiterating or sprout- 1b. Bark rough, exfoliating in horizontal strips or ing from dormant buds in roots near the base of forming many irregular pustules; leaves ses- stems. Foliage branchlets with or without terminal sile; seed cones ovoid-globose to globose; cone buds. Leaves spirally arranged or sub­opposite, scale- scales with an extended, free apex 2 like and adnate or laminar and sessile or short petio- 2a. Bark forming many irregular pustules in ma- late, imbricately covering the shoot or free and more ture trees; leaves opposite or subopposite, or less distichously spreading, sometimes forming mostly linear, distichous or tetrastichous (in 2 4 ranks (Wollemia), more or less coriaceous, with or 4 ranks); pollen and seed cones terminal on numerous parallel veins originating from basal di- first-order branches Wollemia chotomies and few to numerous resin canals. Pollen 2b. Bark exfoliating in horizontal strips; leaves cones axillary to leaves, solitary or in small clusters, spirally arranged, scale-like or triangular to small or large, much elongating after anthesis and lanceolate, mostly equally divided around the becoming cylindrical; microsporophylls numer- shoot; pollen and seed cones lateral on higher ous, helically inserted, crowded, with imbricate or order foliage branches Araucaria tesselate heads, each with 4–20 oblong pollen sacs containing non-saccate pollen. Seed cones termi- nal on long shoots (Wollemia) or lateral on short, Cephalotaxaceae Neger, Nadelhölzer: 23, 30. 1907 pedunculate, leafy shoots, solitary, erect, ovoid or (nom. cons.). Type: Cephalotaxus Siebold & Zucc. subglobose, sometimes massive (Araucaria bidwillii ex Endl. has the heaviest cones of all conifers), usually dis- intergrating leaving the rachis on the tree. Bracts Description helically inserted on the rachis, much developed, flattened, with a thickened distal margin and with See the genus description. or without a terminal elongated cusp, forming the bulk of the cone. Seed scales much reduced, axillary One genus: Cephalotaxus, with 8 species. to and almost entirely fused with the bract, with or without a small, free apical ligule, more or less en- Distribution closing a single, inverted seed, concrescent with the seed scale or free, wingless or with a single wing or 2 As for the genus. unequal wings. Seedlings with 2, sometimes deeply divided, cotyledons. Number of chromosomes (di­ ploid) 2n = 26. World of conifers.indd 44 3-3-2010 17:02:16.