BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS, F.G.S., F.L.S. 83 



Sporangia-bearing stalks, peltate, and arranged in whorls of six ; 

 sporangia, four to each stalk, borne on the under side of the peltate 

 leaves ; spore cases, with cellular walls ; spores spherical, with 

 thread-like elaters. 



The fruit-spike or cone bears a very strong resemblance to 

 Equiselum, but in the latter all the leaves of the cone are fruit- 

 bearing, while in Catamites some are fruitful, and others are like 

 the ordinary leaves of the plant. 



Catamites abound in the Carboniferous rocks, and no doubt the 

 great mass of the coal was formed by them. They may be said to 

 have died out at the close of the palasozoic period, though some are 

 still found amongst the lower members of the mesozoic strata. 

 We have only two quoted from Australia, and those are from 

 the lowest group of our coal strata, Smith's Creek, near Stroud. 



Catamites (Bornia) radiatus* — Brongniart, Hist, of Veget. 

 Foss., 1, p. 122 (quoted by Schimper as Borvia, vol 1, p. 335). 

 This species belongs to the subdivision Bornia, distinguished 

 amongst Catamites by its interrupted, non-alternating ribs, its free 

 leaves, which on the branches are once or twice-forked, divided 

 above, ovoid elliptic spikes, scutellae with a scar on the centre of 

 the external face. It is thus characterised : — Leaves of branches 

 very long, linear, free, often forked. Cauline leaves shorter. 



The fossil is very wide-spread, being found in the lower coal and 

 Devonian rocks of Europe and those of America. (See Dawson's 

 Devonian Plants, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, vol xviii., p. 309 ; also, 

 Schimper, atlas, pi., xxiv., where many figures are given of stem, 

 leaves and fruit.) 



In Dr. Feistmantel's work already quoted,! there are three 

 figures given of this fossil, representing some leaves and cer- 

 tain portions of the stem. It should be mentioned that, except 



* See Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. 1SS3, pi. 12, pp. 7, 8. 



t Nachtrag zur Fossilien Flora Australiens, Paleontographia pars. pi. vi , 

 vii , xxiv , xxi. It is to be borne in mind that this work is published in 

 parts and the numerals refers to the number of plates in the part. Dr. 

 Feistmantel inserted a second enumeration having reference to the essay on 

 the Australian Fossil Flora as a whole. To this second enumeration I have 

 already referred. 



