Trees or rarely shrubs, monoecious, usually evergreen, the wood resinous. Leaves linear, spirally arranged. Flowers arranged in cones. Male cones lateral with numerous scales, each bearing 2 pollen-sacs. Female cones lateral or ± terminal, woody, each scale bearing 2 ovules on the adaxial surface. Worldwide: 12 genera and 220 species, Northern temperate zones south to Central America, West Indies, Sumatra and Java. Zimbabwe: 1 genus and 3 taxa. |
|