100 PALEOBOTANY [Box. Absts., Vol. X, 



PALEOBOTANY AND EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY 



Edward W, Berry, Editor 

 (See also in this issue Entries 460, 755) 



632. Anonymous. The microstructure of coal. Nature 107: 282, 1921. — The present is 

 an abstract of a paper by A. L. Booth, read at the autumn meeting of the Iron andSteelln- 

 stitute. Microscopic examination is very useful in determining suitability of different coals. 

 Commercial British coal is divided into 3 classes: (1) "Humic," composed of leaves, stems, 

 and broken down woody tissue; (2) "Spore," in which micro and megaspores predominate; 

 (3) "Cannel." The humic-coals are suited for "steam-raising or town-gas" manufacture, 

 spore-coals for producer gas, and cannel for direct-fired furnaces. — O. A. Stevens. 



633. Anonymous. [Rev. of: Scott, D. H. Studies in fossil botany. Vol. I. Pterido- 

 phyta. 3rd ed., xxiii + 4^4 p., 190 illns. A. and C. Black: London, 1920 (see Bot. Absts. 8, 

 Entry 2092).] Sci. Prog. [London] 16: lGl-162. 1921. 



634. Berry, E. W. A Pseudocycas from British Columbia. Amer. Jour. Sci. 2: 1S3-186. 

 Fig. 1-3. 1921. — A species of Pseudocycas is described from the Upper Cretaceous Dunvegan 

 sandstone of British Columbia. — E. W. Berry. 



635. Berry, Edward W. Tertiary fossil plants from the Dominican Republic. Proc. 

 U. S. Nation. Mus. 59: 117-127. PI. 21. 1921. — New species of Pisonia, Pocaites, Inga, 

 Pithecolohium, Sophora, Sapindus, Calyptranthes, Bucida, Melastomites, Bumelia, and Guet- 

 tardia are described from the Tertiary of the Dominican Republic. — E. W. Berry. 



636. Carpentier, A. [Rev. of: Kidston, R., and W. A. Lang. On old red sandstone 

 plants showing structure from the Rhynie chert bed, Aberdeenshire. Part III. Asteroxylon 

 Mackiei Kidston and Lang. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 52: 643-680. PI. 1-27. 1920.] 

 Rev. Gen. Bot. 3S: 77. 1921. 



637. Colani, M. Etude sur les flores tertiaries de quelques gisements de lignite de I'lndo- 

 chine et du Yunnan. [Study of the Tertiary floras of the lignite deposits of Indo-China and 

 Yunnan.] Serv. Glol. Indochine Bull. 8: 11-609. PL 1-30. 1920.— A detailed and mono- 

 graphic study of the floras associated with the lignites of Yunnan, Tonkin, and Annam is 

 reported. These come from 15 localities, which are fully described. Most of them are of late 

 Tertiary age resting unconformably upon schists orTriassic. Since so few Tertiary floras are 

 known from the tropics the comparative data for exact age determinations are lacking. The 

 oldest flora, that from Na-giao, is believed to be Eocene or Oligocene in age. Most of the 

 floras, although they show slight differences probably due to age, are considered as Mio- 

 Pliocene, and one, that from Tuyen-quang, appears to be Pliocene. Ail are considered to 

 be pre-Pleistocene. Numerous new species are described and figured; these are critically 

 discussed and carefully compared with related fossil and existing forms. The treatment is 

 conservative throughout, many species being referred to the form genus Phyllites with their 

 probable botanic affinity indicated, and several groups of closely related leaves are treated in 

 a broad way, as for example the group of Quercus Relongtanense or the group of Dryophyllum 

 yunnanse. The Tertiary floras of this region, like that associated with the ape man of Trinil, 

 appear to show a derivation from the eastern Himalayan region, an elevated habitat in the 

 Tertiary or a considerable climatic change in the lowlands. Oriental oaks and the ancestral 

 oaks of the extinct genus Dryophyllum are the most prominent elements, and other forms 

 represented include Libocedrus, Engelhardtia, Myrica, Pisonia, Pseudolmedia, Ficus, numer- 

 ous Lauraceae, Osmanthus, Polyaltkia, etc. The work furnishes a permanent basis for future 

 studies of tropical Tertiary floras and former geographic distribution. — E. W. Berry. 



638. Colani, M. Sur quelques Araucarioxylon indochine. [Upon several Araucarioxylons 

 from Indo-China.] Serv. G^ol. Indochine Bull. 6^: 1-17. PL 1-3. 1919.— Fragments of 



