Compilation
Widdringtonia dracomontana

a shrub, 8–10 ft. high, rarely a tree; ultimate ramifications slender, about 1/2 lin. in diam.; leaves of the juvenile state unknown, of the adult state decussate, squamiform, those of the older branches with an ovate subacute appressed blade, the free portion not much over 1 lin. long, those of the ultimate divisions tightly appressed with the upper part more or less bulging, so that the contour of the twigs is a broken line, oblong to obovoid-oblong, hardly ever rhombic, subacute to subobtuse, with the free and adnate portions about equally long, obtusely keeled if at all, oblong, about 1 lin. long, ebracteate and subsessile in the cup formed by the subtending foliage leaves; scales in about 6 pairs, subpeltate, rhombic-ovate, obscurely acuminate, subcoriaceous, slightly keeled upwards; pollen-sacs 4, almost covered by the scales in the cone; female strobiles in short, very scanty spikes, terminating with a vegetative bud; cones at the time of pollination up to 2 lin. in diam., exceeding the subtending squamiform ovate subacute bract; scales ovate-oblong, subobtuse, stout, particularly along the median line, but without a well-marked hump on the face, olive-green, more or less bluish-pruinose on the face when dry; ovules 3 with each scale, bottle-shaped, with 2 obscure equal wings; cones 1–2 from each spike, globose to ovoid-globose, smooth with a short stout point (morphological apex) from below the top, purplish-brown with a glaucous bloom, when quite mature 9–10 lin. in diam., blackish-grey; valves wrinkled, but not or only very scantily tubercled, furrowed on the face, seed-scars obscure; seeds up to 12 (?), somewhat compressed, oblong to lanceolate- or ovate-oblong, about 3 1/2 by 1 1/2 lin., equally or subequally winged on the sides, the wings meeting at the apex in a notch, about 1 lin. wide, dark brown or the nucleus black. null