162 ON THE FOSSIL FLORA OF THE COAL DEPOSITS OF AUSTRALIA, 



where it is associated with Ptilophyllum oligoneurum. It is of 

 course only an approximate identification, as no cones, either male 

 or female have been hitherto discovered. I think they should be 

 abundant from the number of the leaves, but as yet the beds have 

 been only explored by myself, and I merely collected stones from the 

 surface. I give the plant therefore a name provisionally, not 

 meaning to pronounce positively upon its characters, but only its 

 resemblances. If the surmise — for I can call it little better than 

 a surmise — be verified, it will be the first time that Sequoiites has 

 been identified south of the equator. This however will not be 

 so surprising since the genus Phyllocladus of Tasmania extends 

 into Borneo and Arthrotaxis of the southern hemisphere can 

 hardly be separated from the Chinese Cunninghamia. We have no 

 Australian Conifer with leaves similar to Sequoia except Podo- 

 carpits, but though in some species of that genus the foliage is 

 long, flat, and with a prominent midrib, there is a distinct petiole 

 which in this fossil is wanting. 



Sequoiites (?) australis, n. s. Leaves very close, two rowed (?) 

 spread out, flat, alternate, straight, rarely falcate, smooth above, 

 midrib prominent below, rounded at the apex, towards which there 

 is only a very slight tapering, not contracted at the base but 

 becoming a sheath, down the centre of which the midrib can be 

 distinctly traced, from 20 to 25 millimetres long, and 1J wide, 

 but much shorter and smaller near the extremities of the shoots, 

 where they are somewhat imbricated all round the branch, and 

 loosely spiral. The sheathing base of the leaves gives rise to a 

 jointed appearance to the stem. Length of longest fragment 91 

 millim., on which there were about 50 leaves ; width about 25 

 millim., at base tapering to 8 mill. PI. 7, fig. 5. 



Ord. Abietace^e. Fam. Walchi^e. 



Schimper says that it was the system for a long time to place in 

 genus Araucarites every impression of the branches of Conifers 

 whose leaves showed some resemblance to the leaves of Araucaria 

 of the group Eutacta. A better acquaintance with these plants, 

 which arose from the discovery of inflorescence and fruits enabled 

 paleontologists to show that most of the species had nothing in 



