TAXODIACEAE

the so-called deciduous cypress family (order Coniferales), consisting of 10 genera with 15 species of ornamental and timber evergreen trees, native to eastern Asia, Tasmania, and North America. The leaves on one tree may be scalelike, needlelike, or a mixture of both; they occur singly and are often spirally arranged on frondlike branchlets. Both male and female reproductive structures are borne on the same tree; the male structures are solitary or clustered and have spirally arranged scales, each of which has three to nine pollen cases. The female cones, solitary and terminal, also have spirally arranged scales. Each scale is fused with a bract (modified leaf), which becomes thick and woody. The two to nine seeds produced per scale are erect in some genera and inverted in others. There are two to eight cotyledons. Tasmanian cedar, Japanese cedar, China fir, umbrella pine, big tree, redwood, dawn redwood, and bald cypress (qq.v.) are economically important timber trees belonging to the Taxodiaceae family.