MESOZOIC X'LANÏS lltUJI CHINA. 35 



III. CRETACEOUS PLANTS. 



A. Shi-huan-tzu, Chao-hua-Hsien, 

 Su-ch'uang-Shêng.' ' 



1. CONIOPTERIS NITIDULA n. sr. 



PI. XII. Fig. 4, 4a. 



Frond tripiunate. rrimary piunte elongated. Secondary 

 pinute also elongated, bluntly pointed, attaclied to the rachis at 

 a very wide angle, close together and often touching. Pinnules 

 short, blunt, inclined forward, very close together, united at 

 base so as to appear like mere lobes, indistinctly and coarsely 

 crenate. Veins few, the raidvein which is fine and goes off at 

 an acute angle from the rachis usually forks twice, so that the 

 pinnules become three- veined. 



Our only specimen, shown in the figure, represents two 

 primary pinnie side by side, but separated from each other by 

 a short interspace. The secondary pinnse which measure about 

 10 mm. in leniith and about 2 mm. in breadth are 2;enerallv 

 given 00 at ]-ight angles to the rachis and possess 6 or 7 i)in- 

 nules besides the terminal one. 



This plant shows a distant resemblance to Coniopteris 

 lijjinenopliylloides Biioxg. already described from Lao-tung-ts'ang 

 in the province of Chih-li, but tlie shai)e of the jniinules in the 

 twu is (|uite different. 



^V closer relationshi]) is shown by tSphenopteris Cordai 

 Schenk (Foss. Flora d. norddeutsch. AVealdenform., ])1. YI, 

 fig. 1.) which, however, seems to have pinnules a little larger 



1) MJiltBSftiJ^S^ST- 



