HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



lili 



on the Hawkesbury River, 10 miles to tbe north of Port Jackson. 

 From the same locality the fern-like plant, figured by Brongniart ' 

 as Pecopteris data, and now known as Sphenopteris alata (Brong.), 

 was recorded. The genus Pkyttotheca, and the species P. australis, 

 were also founded by Brongniart 2 from Australian specimens. 



In 1831, Nicol 3 described sections of petrified woods from 

 Tasmania, and two years later he figured other sections from New 

 South Wales. Tbe occurrence of petrified wood in Australia had 

 also attracted the attention of Clarke 4 among the earlier observers. 



The first collection of fossil plants from New South Wales was 

 described by Morris 5 in 1845. These specimens are now partly in 

 the British Museum, and partly in the Museum of the Geological 

 Society of London. The following species were obtained from the 

 Newcastle Series: — 



Sphenopteris lobifolia, sp. nov. 



S. alata, var. exilis, Morr. = S. alata (Broug.). 



Glossopteris Browniana, Broug. 



Phyllotheca aus trails, Broug. 



Some two years later, McCoy 6 published an important paper 

 dealing with the plants obtained from several different horizons in 

 New South Wales by the Rev. W. B. Clarke during the years 

 1839 to 1844. The Clarke collection was presented to the 

 Woodwardian Museum, Cambridge, in 1844, and is now preserved 

 in the Sedgwick Museum of that University. These specimens 

 were re-examined and described more fully in 1902. 7 The following 

 species were determined from the Newcastle Series by McCoy : — 



Glossopteris Browniana, Brong. 



G. linearis, sp. nov. = G. Browniana, Brong. 



Vertebraria australis, sp. nov. = V. inclica, Boyle. 



Sphenopteris alata (Brong-.). 



S. ger mantis, sp. nov. = S. lobifolia, Morris. 



S. plumosa, sp. nov. = S. lobifolia, Morris. 



S.flexuosa, sp. nov. = S. lobifolia, Morris. 



S. hast at a, sp. nov. = S. lobifolia, Morris. 



S. lobifolia, Morris. 



Gangamopteris angustifolia, sp. nov. 



Phyllotheca ramosa, sp. nov. = P. australis, Brong. 



1 Brongniart (28 1 ), p. 58 ; (28 2 ), p. 3C1, pi. cxxvii. See Arber (02 1 ), p. 10. 



: Brongniart (28 1 ), pp. 152, 175. 3 Nicol (31), (33). 



4 Clarke (43). 5 Morris (45). « McCoy (47). ' Arber (02'). 



