Taxodiaceae

Taxodiaceae 

a family of gymnospermous coniferous monoecious plants. Members of Taxodiaceae are predominantly tall trees with needle-like or scalelike leaves. The male spikelets are small and apical or axillary; the microsporophylls (stamens) have a widened section with two to nine microsporangia (pollen sacs) on a short stalk. The female strobiles (cones) are small and apical, with numerous scales. There are nine genera encompassing 15–16 species, which are distributed in East Asia and North America; one genus, Athrotaxis, is found in Tasmania.

In earlier geological periods, the Taxodiaceae were numerous and widely distributed in the northern hemisphere. Modern Taxodiaceae are authentic “living fossils,” especially the genera Metasequoia, Glyptostrobus, and Taiwania. The best-known genera are Sequoia, Sequoiadendron (giant Sequoia), Taxodium, Cryptomeria (Japanese cedar), and Cunninghamia. The wood of the Taxodiaceae has various uses. The Taxodiaceae are often cultivated as ornamentals, for example, in the southern USSR.