40 Annals of the South African Museum. 



fossil fragments referred by authors to the genus Palissya and to 

 Sequoia have the vegetative characters of the comprehensive genus 

 Taxites. 



Taxites sp. 



Plate VI., fig. 15. 



The fragment represented in fig. 15 is too small and incomplete 

 to refer to a distinct species ; twigs of this type are exceedingly 

 common in Mesozoic Floras, and, in the absence of reproductive 

 organs, cannot be placed with any degree of certainty in a particular 

 family. Similar coniferous shoots are recorded by Feistmantel from 

 India as Taxites ijlanus ''■- and Palissya ( ?) jabalpurensis ; \ the 

 British type, Taxites zamioidcs,\ of Inferior Oolite age, is another of 

 the numerous examples that may be compared with the Uitenhage 

 specimen. 



Plate YL, fig. 15 (Y). 



A fragment showing numerous linear leaves attached by a base 

 which is decurrent on the axis of the shoot. The leaves appear to 

 have a single median vein. 



Associated with fi-agments of Cladophlchis dentiadata forma 

 atherstonei. 



The only other specimen in the collection is 176d. 



Genus BRACHYPHYLLUM Brongniart. 

 Beach YPHYLLUM sp. 



Plate YI., figs. 13, 18. 



The scraps of coniferous twigs preserved in the Uitenhage plant- 

 beds are too fragmentary and imperfect to refer with confidence to 

 any species. § Tate mentions the occurrence of portions of a 

 coniferous stem, which are no doubt identical with that represented 

 in fig. 13, " closely allied to Athrotaxites indicus Old." || This type 

 of stem is exceedingly abundant in Wealden and Jurassic rocks ; it 

 is recorded by many authors under the genus Brachyphyllum, while 

 others adopt the names Echinostrohus or Athrotaxites. Feistmantel's 



* Feistmantel (79), pi. xiii.-xv. f Feistmantel (77^), pi. ix., x. 



+ Seward (00), pi. x., fig. 5. § Tate (67), p. 147. 



II Oldham and Morris (63), j)l- xxxii., fig. 8. 



