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Additions and Corrections. A number of the species recorded in the following Table of Distribution have not been described as yet in the Coal Flora for the following reasons.—I do not like to give for publication descriptions of fossil plants when the species cannot be illustrated by figures. Since the plates of this volume have been prepared, I have had for examination a great number of specimens, some of them representing new or interesting species which were left out for future publication, in case the number of plates could be increased if the Survey was continued. Some species, also, insufficiently known had been omitted until they could be positively determined by comparison, if better materials were obtained. As I have now to definitely close the work, I give here, in order to have in it as complete a representation as possible of the carboniferous vegetation of the United States, short descriptions or references to authors, of all the species of fossil plants, which, recorded in the following table, have not been mentioned in the Coal Flora: 16th Ann. Rep. of the Cabt. of Natural History of New York,
p. 87.
Fronds
flabellate or funnel-shaped, latticed by radiate and concentrical lines
crossing at right angles; stems obconical or subcylindrical, hollow,
striate outside, equal, or articulate and nodose at the articulations.DICTYOPHYTUM
RAMOSUM, Sp. nov.
Stem nodose or
tubercular at the articulations, the tubercles projecting outside at
right angles to the stem, as short branches, inflated and button-like
at the apex.The species may be a form of Dictyophytum tuberosum, Hall, l.c., p. 90, Pl. III, Fig. 1, which has the articulations inflated into short obtuse tubercles, some of them broken, but none prolonged as branches. The specimens I have had for examination represent the tubercles arranged in horizontal rows, as in Dictyophytum tuberosum, but instead of being round and obtuse they are prolonged horizontally into short branches inflated into half round knots at the apex. The ribbon-like divisions surrounding the stems and branches are parallel and quite distinct. Habitat. Upper Chemung, head of Hill creek, Charleston township, Tioga county, Penna. A. Sherwood. I have described under this name spikes of various sizes composed of a comparatively large axis, to which are attached lineal scales, connate at base or in the lower part and diverging first at right angles from the axis, then abruptly bent upward from the middle and imbricated, separated and acuminate at the apex, Plate III, Figs. 17-20. As remarked in the description, these spikes have a degree of analogy to those of Volkmannia and apparently are similarly conformed, as seen in Volkmannia fertilis, Plate XC, Fig. 4, differing merely, in appearance at least, by the narrow central axis. Of the spikes of Macrostachia, we have, as yet, three different forms or species to be named. Spikes large, oblong, obtuse, truncate or pedicellate at base, scales large, lanceolate-acuminate at apex, generally broken or truncate above. These spikes, considered by Schimper as those of Macrostachya infundibuliformis, Schp., a fragment of which is figured Plate III, Fig. 14, are locally very abundant, generally mixed with stems and branches of Asterophyllites equisetiformis. They are generally erect, but sometimes also curved or scythe shaped. Habitat. Cannelton; West-Wood, near Pottsville, abundant; Archibald and Olypliant, Penna., etc. MACROSTACHYA
APERTA, Lesqx., Plate III, Fig. 20.
Spike long,
linear, gradually narrower toward the base; bracts or scales open,
horizontal, cut from the middle, exposing the broad striated axis and
the space between the articulations.Asterophyllites aperta, Lesqx., "Geol. of Penna., 1858," p. 852, Plate I, Fig. 5 [Fig. 4 ? - GL,III, ed.]. These spikes evidently belong to the same genus as the last ones described, though they are far different in appearance. They are narrower, linear, comparatively longer and the scales are generally open and truncate. Habitat. Rarely found. New Philadelphia, coal M, and Cannelton, Penna. Spikes short and narrow, linear or narrowly oblong, abruptly pointed; scales closely imbricate and appressed, lanceolate-acuminate from the middle upward, narrowed at base into a short pedicel. At first I considered this form as a mere variety of Macrostachya communis. But the species has been found at the same locality in numerous specimens, all with the same character and of the same size. The spikes are generally narrower, more linear than the one figured. Habitat. Campbell's Ledge, near Pittston, interconglomorate. No. 212 of Mr. Lacoe's collection. FILICACEAE.
Tripinnate;
primary divisions of the rachis stout and wrinkled. Pinnae regularly
alternate. Lower pinnules nearly as broad as long, deeply and obtusely
lobed, narrowed and decurrent at the base, regularly diminished in size
and breadth toward the point, and the last pinnules narrowly obovate
and confluent with the terminal pinnule. Nerves delicate; several times
dichotomous. (Dawson.)CYCLOPTERIS, Auct. CYCLOPTERIS VALIDA, Daws. Dev. Plants, "Quarter. Journ. Geol. Soc. XVIII," p. 319, Pl. XVII, Fig. 52. Similar in all its characters to Pseudopecopteris macilenta, Ll. & Hutt., from which it differs, says the author, by essential characters (not mentioned.) Habitat. Upper Devonian, Pennsylvania. In the table of the Dev. plant l.c. the species is marked only as found in New Brunswick. CYCLOPTERIS
INCERTA, Daws.
Stipes 1 c.m.
in diameter, giving off branches at acute angles, on which are borne
below, branching and re-curved remains of fertile pinnules, and above,
traces of terminal obovate pinnules. (Dawson.)"L.c.," p. 820, Pl. XVI, Fig. 44. An undeterminable fragment. Habitat. Hamilton group of New York. Odontopteris, Brgt.
Frond
polypinnate; rachis narrow; ultimate pinnae open, nearly at right
angles; pinnules close, short, oblong, obtuse, the lower connate at the
base, the upper gradually shorter and connate to the middle; medial
nerve distinct; lateral veins partly derived from the main rachis,
partly from the midrib, all distinct.Coal Flora, p. 124. ODONTOPTERIS BRITANNICA, Gutb. Abdr., p. 68, Pl. 9, Fig. 8-11. The specimen from which the description is made is like a counterpart of that represented Figs. 8 and 9, Gutb., l. c., and also like that in Weiss' "Flora Foss.," P1. I, Fig. 2. The figures, as also the specimens I have seen, are entirely different from any of those of Odontopteris Schlotheimii, to which Schimper refers Odontopteris Britannica as a synonym. Habitat. Cannelton, Pennsylvania; St. Clairsville, Ohio. No. 753 Lacoe's collection. ODONTOPTERIS
REICHIANA, Gutb.
Fronds
polypinnate and sometimes dichotomous at apex; ultimate pinnae open,
linear-lanceolate, rigid or flexuous; pinnules narrowly
ovate-lanceolate, from a truncate base, obtusely pointed, the upper
narrower the terminal longer, lanceolate, obtusely acuminate from an
enlarged base.Abdr., p. 65, Pl. I, Fig. 1-5, 7; X, Fig. 13. Of the specimens which I refer to this species, one has the pinnules oblong, somewhat enlarged at the base, inclined upward, blunt-pointed, 15-17 m.m. long, 1 c.m. broad at base, the lateral veins emerging from the rachis, the medial nerve distinct and dichotomous above, the veins being distant, thin, slightly curved toward the borders, forking once, rarely twice. The other specimen has the leaflets smaller, broader at base, ovate-acute, the lower pinnules enlarged and lobed, as in Fig. 2 of Gutb., l. c. Habitat. Thayer, and Osage City, Kansas. No 754 of Lacoe's collection. ODONTOPTERIS
DILATATA, Sp. nov.
Terminal
pinnule broadly ovate or obovate, obtuse, the lateral oval or oblong,
obtuse, decurring and connate at base by a narrow band bordering the
rachis; veins close, dichotomous, the lateral slightly curved outside;
texture thick; surface polished.A mere fragment compared to Odontopteris Obtusa, Brgt., but without distinct affinity to any species known to me. The fragment is too small for a satisfactory diagnosis. Habitat. Cannelton, Pennsylvania. Leaves oval-oblong, equally narrowed upward and downward from the middle, obtuse or truncate at the apex, joining the petiole in decurring or by a small auricle, petiolate; lateral nerves all emerging obliquely from a thick convex medial nerve, curving in passing to the borders, dichotomous, forking two or three times. I have seen two leaves of this species, one 4 c.m. long, 16 m.m. broad in the middle, shortly auricrulate at base, with a broken petiole 7 m.m. long. In both specimens the lateral veins joining the medial nerve at a very acute angle of divergence reach the borders obliquely at an angle of about 50°, and count there 40 per c.m. The other leaf merely differs from the first in the basilar borders without auricles. It is better preserved in its whole length, being truncate at the apex; in the other specimen the top of the leaf is destroyed. Habitat. Lawrence and Osage, Kansas. No. 314 of Mr Lacoe's collection. DICTYOPTERIS, Gutb.
Pinnules large,
nearly sessile, cordate or truncate at base, ovate-lanceolate, the
terminal larger, oblique; medial nerve indistinct; lateral veins
anastomosing in their flexures, forming large, rhomboidal meshes.Coal Flora, p. 143. DICTYOPTERIS SCHEUCHZIRI, Hoffm. "In Roem., Pflanz. d. Kohlengeb. am Harze, Palaeont." IX, p. 186, Pl. XXXII, Fig. 1. I refer to this species two specimens of different aspect. One is a single leaflet, long, nearly linear, rounded at apex, with lateral nerves prominent or filiform, not flattened as in Dictyopteris rubella, and thus very distinct, polished. The other is a fragment of a pinna with three pinnules of different sizes, the smallest only 14 m.m. long, 5 m.m. broad, the largest 9 to 10 c.m. long, 6 c.m. broad,all ovate, cordate at base. The leaves of the second specimen are all fragmentary. Though the nervation is the same, they may represent a different species, the first leaflet described being comparatively long and narrow, 1 c.m. broad at base and in the middle, with borders flexuous. Habitat. This last specimen, a single leaf, is from Port Griffith, the other from Moosic, Penna. Anthracite Coal Co.'s mine. Nos. 823 and 823 c of Lacoe. DICTYOPTERIS
CORDATA, Roem., l.c.
Pinnules
cordate at base, obliquely acuminate, repand-sinuous on the borders;
lateral nerves close, dichotomous, anastomosing in their curves and
forming large rhomboidal meshes.The species resembles Neuropteris hirsuta, Lesqx., and may be a derived form of it, as it has sometimes the veins somewhat undulate, but I have not seen any leaves of this last species with anastomosing flexures. Habitat. Nodules of Mazon creek, shale over coal at Morris, Ill. No. 631 Lacoe's collection. DICTYOPTERIS
NEUROPTEROIDES, Roehl.
Lateral
leaflets close, slightly scythe shaped, imbricate on the borders, or
contiguous, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, nearly truncate at base, the
upper basilar border only rounded, not auricled at base; upper terminal
pinnules comparatively long, linear-lanceolate, obtuse."Foss. des Steinkohlen form. Westphal.," p. 49, Pl. XIV., Fig. 6. By the size and form of the leaflets, this species resembles Dictyopteris Brongniarti, but the lateral nerves are more distinct and the meshes longer and narrower. The pinnules are nearly 2 c.m. long and 8 m.m. broad at base ; the medial nerve is broad, flat, gradually narrower upward, vanishing under the apex; the veins are thick, forking generally three times, anastomosing near their base and in the middle, but arched and free toward the borders. The size of the pinnules is variable upon the same pinna. Habitat. Morris, Ill. No. 633 of Mr. Lacoe's cabinet. Pinnules lanceolate, acute, larger above the middle, gradually narrowed toward the decurring base, dentate on the borders, perhaps by compression or local abrasion of the thick substance of the leaves when softened by maceration. Specie uncertain. It is represented only by the top of a pinna with 4 leaflets, 4 to 5-1/2 c.m. long, 1 c.m. in diameter at the broadest part, 5-6 m. above the decurring base. The veins are very oblique, distinct and distant, being only 20 per c.m. along the borders. The medial nerve is indistinct. Habitat. Rushville, Ohio. No. 783 of Mr. Lacoe's collection. MEGALOPTERIS
SERRATA, Sp. nov.
Pinnules
narrow, at an acute angle of divergence, narrowly lanceolate, long
sharply acuminate, sometimes bifid above the decurring base; veins
strong and distant, very oblique, their points often passing out of the
borders which thus appear serrate or denticulate, but with much smaller
teeth than in the preceding species.The leaflets, 2-4 c.m. long, are only 5 m.m. broad. The whole plant resembles a Rhacophyllum. Habitat. Rushville, Ohio. No. 789 of Lacoe's cabinet. Megalopteris Sewellensis, Fontaine, is a species provisionally named but not described by the author in "Jour. Sci. and Arts," 3d Series, XI, p. 383. Ultimate pinnae narrow, linear, pinnately lobed; lobes obtuse or triangular, obtusely pointed, short, connate to the middle, each marked with a distinct medial nerve; lateral veins nearly erect, thick, distinct, those emerging from the rachis erect or even sub-incurved, those above, derived from the medial nerve in a very acute angle of divergence, close, forking once. The species resembles Alethopteris Pennsylvanica, differing by the form of the pointed lobes and the nervation. The specimens are, however, too small, though very numerous, for a sufficient diagnosis. Habitat. Dade, Georgia; also Tennessee. No. 1013 of Lacoe. Pinnae large, pinnately divided; ultimate pinnae or pinnules at right angles, distant, rigid, linear, long and narrow, medial nerve very thick. The ultimate pinnae appear like long narrow linear pinnules, the broad medial nerve or radius being bordered with a narrow, undulate lamina; sometimes the lamina, slightly broader, is marked by deeper undulations or short quadrangular lobes, 4 in. m. long, as broad at base, with a thick medial nerve continuous to the apex, the lateral veins being simple and oblique. The substance is very thick, the texture coarse. This renders the diagnosis as yet insufficient. Habitat. Cannelton. No. 743 of Lacoe's cabinet. PECOPTERIS, Brgt.
Frond
tripinnate; primary rachis stout and rather rough; secondary pinnae
alternate, linear-lanceolate, taper pointed, going of at nearly right
angle; pinnules short, ovate, or triangular in outline, alternate, the
lower united near the base, the upper gradually more connate, becoming
confluent near the apex; texture thick and leathery; mid-nerve strong,
flexuous, reaching the apex; lateral nerves stout, dichotomously
forking, the branches all de-flexed, joining the borders nearly at
right angle. (Font. and White.)Coal Flora, p. 223. PECOPTERIS SCHIMPERI, Font. and White. Perm. or Upper Carb. Flora of West Virginia, p. 75, Pl. XXIV, Fig. 1-5. Habitat. Great vein of the Hocking coal fields, Ohio, horizon of the Pittsburgh coal, numerous, in fine specimens. Lacoe's, No. 886. Fronds ovate or oblong-lanceolate, tripinnate; pinnae subopposite and alternate, open, subarcuate, long-lanceolate; pinnules subopposite, linear-lanceolate, subp innatifid or crenulate; nerves obsolete. Habitat. Coal measures of Arkansas; F. L. Harvey. SPHENOPTERIS
TENELLA, Brgt.
Pinnae
oblong-lanceolate, bipinnatifid; secondary pinnae oblique, rigid,
oblong or broadly lanceolate, close and parallel, with 5 or 6 rows of
alternate pinnules, open,sessite pinnately divided into 2 or 3 pairs of
alternate simple linear obtuse entire short lobes obliquely diverging."Veget. Foss.," p. 186, Pl. XLIX, Fig. 1. All the lobes are entire, except the lowest on the upper side of the pinnules which is generally a little enlarged at the apex and there truncate, emarginate or biffd. The lobes are open, not decurrent; the medial nerve is pinnately divided, one of its branches entering into each lobe and ascending to the apex. In Brongniart's figure, the lateral pinnae are shorter, the pinnules close, the lobes entire, none of them bifid at the apex. But the author says that the species is known to him only by a drawing and he considers it as different from Sphenopteris tridactylites. From the last species, the American form described above is very different by the narrow filiform entire lobes, etc. It is more like Sphenopteris elegans, Brgt., from which it differs also by the narrower longer simple lobe, narrow rachis, etc. Habitat. Thayer, Kansas. No. 254 of Lacoe's collection. Horizon not ascertained yet. SPHENOPTERIS
DISSECTA, Brgt.
Bipinnatifid,
rachis winged; pinnules deeply pinnatifid ; divisions linear, very
narrow, distant, distinct to the base, simply nerved, the lower bi- or
trifurcate; lobes obtuse, diverging."Veget. Foss," p. 183, Pl. 49, Figs. 2, 3. The pinnae are oblique, parallel, alternately pinnately lobed, lobes distant, the lower trifid, the middle bifid, the upper entire, all long and linear. Habitat. Old Forge township, Carbon Hill mine, coal D, Lacoe's collection. No. 371. SPHENOPTERIS
FASCICULARIS, Roem.
Pinnae with
close alternate oblique ovate pinnules, cut in many close or connate
laciniae, becoming free and distinct on the borders and more or less
curved back."Beitr. in Paleont.," IX, p. 179. Pl. XXVIII, Fig. 9. The species is difficult to define and as yet I have never seen it distinctly, no more than it is seen upon the figure given by the author. The pinnules ovate or oblong-acuminate, sessile upon a narrow rachis, appear as composed of nerves of irregular size whose points curving near the borders, attenuated and free, pass out of them like decomposed bundles of filaments. The species may be referable to the genus Rhacophyllum. The borders of the pinnules are not defined by any line. Habitat. Olyphant, Penna. No. 367 of Mr. Lacoe's collection. Also found at Cannelton. SPHENOPTERIS
HITCHCOCKIANA, Daws.
Stipes stout,
straight, rugose, giving of slender secondary petioles which ramify
dichotomously and terminate in minute ovate leaflets. (Dawson.)"Flora of the Devon. Per. of N. E. Am., Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc.," Vol XVIII, p. 821, Pl. XVI, Fig. 51. This plant, as figured, appears to represent fruiting branches of some species of Archaeopteris. Habitat. Devonian of Perry, near Eastport, Maine. ARCHAEOPTERIS, Daws.
Pinnules large,
connate, with distinct once forked nerves and waved margins. (Daws.)Coal Flora, p. 299. ARCHAEOPTERIS (CYCLOPTERIS) BROWNII, Daws. L. C., p. 320. Plate XII, Fig. 9. A small fragment of uncertain generic attribution. Habitat. Same as the last. RHACOPHYLLUM, Schp.
Primary rachis
somewhat thick, alternately dichotomous; primary branches at an acute
angle of divergence, dichotomously divided from the base into thin,
threadlike branches diverging also in acute angle, the upper branches
becoming gradually more slender.Coal Flora, p. 309. RHACOPHYLLUM FILIFORME. Fucoides filiformis, Gutb., "Abdr.," p. 12, Pl. 1, Figs. 9,9a. The main stem or rachis is 4 m.m. in diameter; the secondary 2 m.m. ; the ultimate divisions to 1 m.m. The divisions vary in length, and are sometimes 5-6 c.m. long. Habitat. Rhode Island coal beds; Garnet, Kansas. No. 813 of Mr. Lacoe's. Scars small; borders broad, parallel, not emarginate at top; surface of the inside scars punctulate. Similar to Stemmatopteris punctata; the scars are only half as long, though of the same width. Habitat. Cannelton, Pennsylvania. No. 612 of Lacoe's collection. STEMMATOPTERIS
ANCEPS, Sp. nov.?
Scars broadly
oval, with a broad parallel border; vascular scars horse-shoe-shaped;
surface dull, smooth.Species made from two indifferent specimens and uncertain. Habitat. Cannelton. Pennsylvania; No. 611 of Lacoe's collection. Rachis or rhizoma cylindrical, flattened by maceration, irregularly pustulate or marked by close elevated conical points irregular in position, representing the base of long scaliform hairs; hairs or scales linear-lanceolate, curved up or hooked, bordering the stems when they have not been destroyed by maceration. These stipes are probably those of Pecopteris villosa or Pecopteris squamosa. Habitat. Not rare at Cannelton. No. 456 of Lacoe. Branches small; leaf-scars distinct, broadly rhomboidal; leaves thick, coriaceous, very rigid, polished, gradually narrowed to a very sharp point; medial nerve broad, convex. I have not seen other leaves of the same character. They are 8-10 c.m. long, 4 m.m. broad at the base, thence gradually tapering upward to a sharply acute point. These leaves somewhat resemble those of Lepidodendron rigens, Lesqx., being, however, flat, only slightly concave toward the base; the lower leaves are more distant, at right angles to the stem; the upper oblique, turned upward, not crowded. Habitat. Dade mine, Georgia; also sent from Tennessee. Fig. 918 of Lacoe. Cortical scars long-rhomboidal; bolsters distant, conic-linear, truncate at the apex. Differs from Knorria imbricata by the bolsters distant and narrower. KNORRIA
COMPACTA, Sp. nov.
Branches or
trunks small, covered with appressed leaves apparently tubulose or
inflated a distance above the base, then flat, long, linear, with a
broad flat mid-rib; leaf-scars close, in spiral order, angularly round
or round-hexagonal, marked in the middle by an elevated small rarely
distinct mamilla.The species is represented by three specimens, two of which are apparently fragments of trunks, flattened and without leaves; the other is a branch 5-6 c.m. in diameter, 15 c.m. long, bearing leaves and entirely covered upon the exposed surface by scars of the leaves which still remain attached to the borders. The scars measure in diameter 5 m.m.; they are convex or more elevated in the middle, where one may sometimes discern a small mamilla, but more generally they are merely convex and smooth. The outlines of the scars, which are quite close, (2-3 m.m. distant,) show the tubulose base of the leaves which, as seen along the borders of the branch, are inflated or tubulose at base for 2 c.m. of their length, and then flat, 5 m.m. broad and long, as far as can be seen from the specimen which they cover its whole length to the broken borders, compressed, canaliculate in the middle by a broad flat nerve more than 1 m.m. broad. Upon the trunks, the scars are surrounded at base by a narrow more elevated border. The reference of this peculiar plant to Knorria is not positive. Habitat. Thayer, Kansas. No. 816 of Mr. Lacoe's collection. Strobile oblong or narrowly oval, comparatively short; bracts erect, imbricate and appressed, long, distinct, linear-lanceolate. The strobile is 9 c.m. long, 3-1/2 c.m. broad in the middle, and flattened; the bracts 2-1/2 c.m. long, crowded and appressed, 2 m. m. broad near the base, are gradually acuminate and broadly nerved. The species closely resembles Lepidostrobus variabilis, Ll. &. Hut., differing essentially in the bracts longer, more distinct, the strobile oblong or oval. One of the specimens, No. 681a, is an intermediate form with bracts more distinct or coriaceous, and broader than in Lepidostrobus variabilis, but shorter and narrower than in Lepidostrobus Butleri. Habitat. Butler mine, near Pittston, Pennsylvania. No. 681 of Lacoe. No. 681a is from Brown colliery, near Pittston, and in same collection. LEPIDOSTROBUS
LATUS, Sp. nov.
Bracts long, lanceolate, erect, sporangiophores oblanceolate, long and gradually narrowed to the base. It is a fragment of strobile, 9 c.m. long, 5 c.m. broad, with bracts 3-1/2 c.m. long, 5 m.m. broad at base, attached to a long slender oblanceolate sporangiophore 1-1/2 c.m. long. The blades, by their shape and length, are like those of Lepidostrobus lanceolatus, Brgt., somewhat longer and comparatively narrower; but in this last the sporanges and sporangiophores are short, not half as long as those of the species. By this last character it is much like Lepidostrobus praelongus, Lesqx., but the sporanges are at right angle, not inclined upward. Habitat. Olyphant; No. 728 in Mr. Lacoe's collection.*
LEPIDOPHYLLUM,
Brgt.
Blade
lanceolate from a broad base horizontally prolonged into two acute
auricles; sporange joined its whole width to the base of the blade or
the auricles, abruptly narrowed a little below to the sporangiophore;
blade with a broad flat obsolete nerve.Coal Flora, p. 447. LEPIDOPHYLLUM STANTONI, Sp. nov. The species essentially differs from Sigillaria hastatum by the shorter blade broadly lanceolate acuminate abruptly enlarged at base into acute auricles, and by the broad sporange also abruptly narrowed to the sporangiophore and somewhat longer. Habitat. Stanton mine, near Wilkes Barre, Penna. No. 657 of Lacoe's cabinet. SIGILLARIEAE. SIGILLARIA, Brgt. Coal Flora, p. 467. SIGILLARIA BROCHANTI, Brgt. "Veget. Foss.," p. 442, Pl. CLIX, Fig. 2. Habitat. Butler mine, coal E, Pittston, Penna. No. 618, Lacoe's cabinet. SIGILLARIA
SAULLII, Brgt.
Ribs narrow,
undulate, separated by deep, narrow furrows, areoles round-oval, as
broad as long, somewhat narrowed, truncate or convex at the top,
rounded at the base, slightly angular at the sides, somewhat distant
and separated by transverse wrinkles; vascular scars three, placed in
the upper part of the areoles."Veget. Foss.," p. 456, Pl. CLI. Habitat. Plymouth, Penna. No. 471 of Lacoe's collection. SIGILLARIA
VENOSA, Brgt.
Stem smooth
(not ribbed), flat; cortex thin, longitudinally striate or veined;
areoles placed in quincunxial order, large and distant, broadly ovate,
truncate or emarginate at the, upper border, rounded at the lower,
enlarged below the middle; vascular scars three, placed in the middle
of the areoles."Veget. Foss.," p. 454, Pl. CLVII, Fig. 6. The areoles, about 1 c.m. long, 8 m.m. broad, are 3 c.m. distant obliquely, and 4 c.m. vertically. The characters of the American form do not differ from those indicated by Brongniart; the wrinkles or longitudinal striae are only more distinctly marked in the specimen I have examined. Habitat. Plymouth, vein F. Lacoe's, No. 900. STIGMARIA, Brgt. Coal Flora, p. 509. STIGMARIA ELLIPTICA, Lesqx. "Geol. Rep. of Ill.," IV, p. 451, Pl. XXIX, Fig. 2. The specimen is covered with a thin coating of coaly matter which has filled the concave areoles, obliterating the mamilla which is only distinguishable at the bottom of some scars. The specimen may represent some of the varieties ascribed by authors to Stigmaria ficoides, Brgt. STIGMARIA
EXIGUA, Daws.
Scars small, in
depressed spaces, six in 2-1/2 c.m., vertically; stem cylindrical,
2-1/2 c.m. in diameter. (Daws.)"Geol. Surv. of Can., Fos. Pl.," p. 23, Pl. III, Fig. 30. The author remarks that it is questionable whether this is not a branch of a species of Cyclostigma rather than a Stigmaria. Habitat. Upper Devonian, Elmira, New York. Leaves or leaflets small, broadly obovate, or flabelliform, rounded-subtruncate at top, narrowed from the middle downward by a slight curve to a short petiole; veins straight, apparently dichotomous, irregular in thickness; epidermis thickish, smooth. The epidermis or upper surface is a pellicle of coal only partly preserved, and under which the nervation is indistinctly seen. The leaflets without the petiole are a little more than 1 c.m. long and 10 m.m. broad in the upper part. By their form and nervation these small leaves have an affinity to those of Whittleseya integrifolia, Lesqx. Habitat. Arkansas coal measures. F. L. Harvey. Differs merely from Cordaianthus rugosus by the rachis which is not transversely rugose, but lineate lengthwise and rough, punctulate as by short hairs. CORDAIANTHUS
EBRACTEATUS, Sp . nov.
Stem slender,
narrow; nutlets opposite, distant, small and globose, apparently
composed of obtuse appressed scales, without bracts underneath.The ovules and scales are not distinct; the specimen is not good enough for positive determination. RHABDOCARPUS, Goepp. & Berg.
Seeds oblong,
narrowed at base, surrounded by an undulate margin, marked by parallel
close thin lines or nerves, and covered by a thick testa.Coal Flora, p. 574. RHABDOCARPUS BEINERTIANUS ? Goepp. & Berg. "De fruct. et. Semin.," p. 20, Pl. 1, Figs. 8 (on the left), 9. Habitat. Arkansas; No. 797 Lacoe's cabinet. RHABDOCARPUS
BOCKSCHIANUS, Goep. & Berg.
L.c., p. 21, Pl. I, Figs. 18 and 14. Seeds elliptical, narrowed upward into a long, styliform acumen; very thinly striate, pointed or truncate at base, often covered with a thick epidermis. The description of these fruits is made in the supposition that the figures of the author are overturned, the basilar prolongation of Fig. 14 being like the long neck or micropyle of the fruits which I have described and figured as Cardiocarpus longicollis, p. 808. Habitat. Arkansas coal measures, F. L. Harvey. Rockwood, Tennessee. No. 1029 Lacoe's collection. As the list of species following the table indicates the reference of each locality to its horizon, marked by the number of the column, the student will find here, to my belief, all the data which it may be interesting to consult for a full acquaintance with the Coal Flora and its distribution. It is therefore useless to enter into detail on the progress of the vegetation from the Devonian to the Permian, on the degree of predominence of certain species either during the whole period of the vegetation or at its different stages, etc., all matters which are exposed to view in the table or which have been already considered in the second volume of this work. |