The Royal Seciety, London. 21 



Berichte gelehrter Gesellschaften. 



The Royal Society, London. 



Scott, D. H., Note on the occurrence of a seed-like 

 fructification in certain palaeozoic Lycopods. 



It Las generally been assumed by palaeobotanists that the 

 fossil seeds described by Willia mson x ) under the name of 

 Cardiocarpon, even if not necessarily co-generic with the Cardiocar- 

 pus 2 )of Brongnfart, at least belonged to the same group of Gymno- 

 spermous plants"). Brongniart's specimens, often preserved 

 with marvellous perfection, have proved to be the seeds of members 

 of the extinct order Cordaiteae, or of allied plants. The same 

 conclusion applies to certain of the British forms, notably the 

 Cardiocarpon anomalam of Carru thers 4 ), which was certainly 

 Cordaitean, and probably to some ofWilliamson's examples. 



The specimens to be shortly described in the present note 

 show, howewer, that seed-like bodies, identical with those figured 

 by Willi am son under the name of Cardiocarpon anomalumf) 

 were borne on Lepidodendroid cones, otherwise indistinguishable 

 from Lepidostrobus. They thus prove that under the genus Cardio- 

 carpon, and even under the „species" C. anomalum, totally different 

 objects have been confounded, namely, the seeds of Cordaiteae or 

 Cycads on the one band, and the integumented megasporangia of 

 certain palaeozoic Lycopods on the other. The latter organs 

 present close analogies with true seeds, but are wholly distinct in 

 detailed structure from the Gymnospermous seeds above mentioned. 



The discovery of the specimens of the new cone is due to 

 Messrs. S. Lomax and G. Wild, who recognised it as & Cardio - 

 carpo?i-besLring strobilus, resembling a Lepidostrobus 6 ). 



The original specimens, which are calcified and generally well 

 preserved, were derived from the Ganister beds of the Lower 

 Coalmeasures, some from Hough Hill, Stalybridge, others from 

 Moorside, Oldham. Numerous sections were cut by Mr. Lomax 

 and Mr. Wild. A closely similar fructification occurs, at amuch 

 lower horizon, in the Burntisland beds of the Calciferous Sand- 

 stone Series. 



*) „Organisation of the fossil plants of the coal-measures." Part VIII. 

 (Phil. Trans. Vol. CLXVII. Part I. 1877. p. 254.) 



2 ) Founded in Brongniart's „Prodome d'une histoire des vegetaux 

 fossiles". 1828. The forms Cardiocarpon and Cardioearpus have been used 

 indiscriminately by authors. 



3 ) See, for example, Solms-Laubach, „Introduction to fossil bo- 

 tany." English edition p. 120. 



4 ) „Notes on some fossil plants." (Geol. Mag. Vol. IX. 1872.) 



*) Loc. cit. Part VIII, Plate 14, fig. 118, and Plate 16, % 119; Part X, 

 1880, Plate 20, fig. 64. These figures are from specimens which I have 

 certainly itentified with the Lepidostroboid fructification. Others figured by 

 Willi am son are of doubtful nature. 



6 ) See the note by Messrs. Wild and Lomax, „On a new Cardio- 

 carpon-bearing strobilus". (Annais of Botany. March, 1900.) 



