•80 Annals of the South African Mnseuni. 



FILICALES. 



There can be little doubt that the genus Glossopteris should be 

 included in the Filicales. It is true we have not yet found fertile 

 specimens showing recognisable sporangia, but in addition to the 

 evidence furnished by the fern-like character of the sterile leaves, 

 the rhizome (Fcrte&rarz'a) " exhibits features characteristic of ferns. 

 As regards Gangamopteris, which differs in no important respect 

 from Glossopteris, we may reasonably accept the view that it is also 

 a member of the Filicineae. 



Genus GLOSSOPTEEIS Brongniart. 



Glossopteris browniana Brongn. var. indica. 



Plate X., figs. 3, 4. 



1828. Glossopteris Broivniana Brongniart, Prodrome, p. 54. 



G. Broivniana var. indica Brongniart, Hist. veg. foss., 



p. 223, pi. Ixii., fig. 2. 

 1869. Glossopteris indica Schimper, Trait, pal. veg., vol. i., 



p. 645. 

 1896. G. indica Zeiller, Bull. Soc. Geol. France, vol. xxiv. [3] , 



p. 366, figs. 11, 12, 13, pi. xvii., figs. 1-3. 

 1898. Glossopteris Broivniana var. indica Seward, Quart. Journ. 



Geol. Soc, vol. liv., p. 92. 

 1900. G. indica Potonie, Deutsch-Ost-afrika, vol. vii., p. 2, fig. 22. 

 1902. G. indica Zeiller, Obs. Sur. Quelques plant, foss. Lower 



Gond. Mem. Geol. Surv. India, p. 8, pi. i.-iii. 

 1902. G. Browniana Arber, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. Iviii., 



p. 5. 

 1902. G. indica, Zeiller, Flore fossile Tonkin (Atlas), pi. xvi., 



figs. 2-5. 



The accurate identification or diagnosis of Glossopteris fronds, and 

 their separation into specific types, is, I believe, a hopeless task, and 

 I have purposely refrained from attempting a full synonomy of 

 Glossopteris browniana var. indica (or G. indica). 



In a recent paper on fossil plants from New South Wales, Mr. 

 Arber f has given several references to literature in which records of 

 Brongniart's type occur. Important contributions have in recent 



* Zeiller (96), p. 351. t Arber (02), p. 5. 



