SYNOPSIS OF PLEISTOCENE PLANTS. 333 



peat consists of the remains of ferns and herbaceous or semi-woody plants. 

 No more definite statement can be made until other material is examined. 



A specimen of lignite from Cape Breton was also submitted to exami- 

 nation. This material was described some years since by Sir William 

 Dawson,* and is also noted in the preceding pages of this paper by him. 

 Boiled out in potash, there have been found in it an abundance of fungus 

 hyphse, the extine of coniferous pollen, bast cells, sclerenchyraa tissue of 

 ferns, epidermis apparently of ferns, wood cells showing a portion of a 

 medullary ray, and fragments of endogenous stems. This is all that could 

 be found after searching through a large amount of material, and the con- 

 clusion was reached that the lignite represents the remains of ferns and 

 grasses with fragments of woody plants, possibly from a more elevated and 

 less wet locality. 



Woods from Illinois. 



In addition to the specimens above described, I have also examined three 

 slides of coniferous wood from Bloomington, Illinois. f These were found at 

 depths of 100 and 107 feet from the surface, and were said to be at the bottom 

 of the bowlder clay. They were provisionally designated as Abies, but a 

 careful comparison with existing species of Abies, Tsuga, and Picea has led 

 me to refer them to Picea alba, Link. 



There were also two slides of Taxus baccata from the same locality, at a 

 depth of 107 feet. 



Synopsis. 



The following summary of species and their distribution may be given : 



1. Asimina triloba, Dunal. Don river, Toronto (Townsend). 



2. Brasema peltata, Pursh. Green's creek nodules (Miller). 



3. Drosera rotundifolia, L. Green's creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson). 



4. Acer sacchariuum, Wang. Green's creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson).;}; 



5. Acer pleistocenicum, sp. nov. Don river, Toronto (Townsend). 



6. Potentilla anserina, L. 



Green's creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson and Miller). 



7. Gaylussacia resinosa, Torr. and Gray. 



Green's creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson). 



8. Menyanthes trifoliata, L. Leda clays, Montreal. J 



9. Ulmns racemosa, Thomas. Don river, Toronto (Townsend). 



10. Populus balsamifera, L. Green's creek, Ottawa (J. W. Dawson). | 



* Acadian Geology, 1878, p. 63. 



t Presented to .Sir William Dawson by Dr. Andrews and Professor Worlhen, and now in the 

 Peter Kedpath Museum. 



{Collection of Sir William Dawson in Peter Redpath Museum. 



