CHAP, iv Taxonomy, 1860-1900 123 



skeleton ought to receive recognition as of great importance 

 in the delimitation of the larger groups. He therefore 

 adopted it as the basis of his proposals. 



An observation made by Scott just before the close of 

 the century calls for special notice, not only on account 

 of its intrinsic importance, but as bearing on the startling 

 discovery, by Oliver and Scott, of seeds borne by Cycado- 

 filicinean plants, which was announced in 1903. This was 

 the occurrence of a curious seed-like fructification in certain 

 palaeozoic Lycopodinae the first intimation of any such 

 structure in plants not then included in the Phanerogams. 



During the early years of our period comparatively little 

 advance was made in the elucidation of a natural system 

 of classification of the Phanerogams. The de Candollean 

 scheme formed the basis of most of the systems which were 

 in use in 1860. Certain modifications of it were proposed 

 by Bentham and Hooker in 1863, when the introduction 

 of the disc as a character mark was introduced, and the 

 large sub-class of Dicotyledons, known as the Disciflorae, 

 was constituted by combining several natural orders on 

 the border-line between Thalamifiorae and Calyciflorae. 

 This change had but little importance, for the characteristic 

 features of the disc in the orders selected were not at all 

 uniform, nor of the same relative magnitude. 



Bentham and Hooker also modified the arrangement of 

 the Monocotyledons, and they retained the heterogenous 

 group of the Monochlamydeae, into which they endeavoured 

 to introduce some kind of order, but without much success. 



The work of Bentham and Hooker culminated in the 

 publication of the Genera Plantarum, a work describing in 

 great detail and with marvellous accuracy all the genera 

 of flowering plants then known. It was commenced in 

 1862, and its publication was continued during the next 

 twenty years. The importance of this work cannot well 

 be overestimated ; whatever system of classification may 



