606 Palaeontologie. 



associated with numerous flat, cordiform elate seeds borne singly 

 on the concave face of small round-obovate, asymmetrical bracts 

 or reduced pinnules. This bract has a marginal vein on one side 

 and a forked vascular System which anastomoses forming a 

 mesh comparable with that of the Gigantopteris venation. The small 

 seeds are slightly apiculate and show evidence of collapsed pollen 

 Chambers. The author is convinced that these seeds are the fructi- 

 fications of G. americana and hence does not give a name to what 

 is a new generic type of seed. 



In addition to the seeds certain peculiar strobili have been found 

 in association with the Gigantopteris fronds. These strobili consist 

 ot a Short thick axis bearing two opposite, distichous rows of close 

 set reniform bracts or sporophylls, each bearing very numerous 

 small pendant sacs which are probably pollen sacs although they 

 may be sporangia (a distinction without much difference). The 

 texture, general aspect, and indications of venation induce the 

 author to consider these strobili as the bilateral spikes of male flo- 

 wers of Gigantopteris. The evidence seems sufficient to Warrant the 

 placing of this large fernlike type among the Pteridospermae. 



In the concluding pages of the present paper the author not 

 only discusses the associated floras but also discusses other and 

 incompletely known floras of the western United States. He finds 

 that Walchia, unknovvn in the Appalachian trough is present at 

 numerous western localities, while Callipteris meagerly represented in 

 eastern North America is abundant and highly differentiated in 

 Kansas and Colorado. Gomphostrobus, another characteristic 

 type of the European Permian, previously unknown from North 

 America, is present in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and 

 Texas, as are the simple forms of Taeniopteris so characteristic of 

 the Europian Permian, together with many other diagnostic Old 

 World Permian types heretofore unknown from North America. 



The floras as a whole while they contain numerous cosmopolitan 

 Permian types as well as a large element of West European Permian 

 types which were distributed along the same northeastern Arctic- 

 american route by which the Carboniferous floras migrated, also 

 include a somewhat unique element derived from eastern Asia as 

 well as a possible element derived from the Ural region 



These antedate in point of time the Permian glaciation and the 

 question is raised whether the subsequent Gangamopteris or Glos- 

 sopteris flora may not have migrated to South America along 

 the line of the Gigantopteris path through Western North America. 



Berry. 



Wieland, G. R., A Study of some American Fossil Cy- 

 cads. Part VI. On the smaller flower-buds of Cycadeoidea. 

 (Amer. Journ. Sei. XXXIII. p. 73—91. taf. 1-11. 1912.) " 



Dr. Wielands studies have now progressed sufficiently far to 

 show their very great value in purely systematic work and in the 

 present paper he gives some preliminary results which greatly 

 modify our coneeption of some of the species named by Professor 

 Ward. 



The present contribution is largely devoted to the description 

 and illustration of the fruetifications of Cycadeoidea Marshiana which 

 instead of being large and very like those of C. dacotensis as has 

 been supposed, are very small with only eleven or twelve, distinctly 



