Devonian Plants, 7 



to certain dichotomous fucoids in the genera Fucoides and Chon- 

 drifes ; to a plant from the Hamilton Group of New York, figured 

 by Vanuxem in his Report, p. 161 ; to the dichotomous roots from 

 Orkney and Caithness described by Mr. Salter in the ' Proceedings' 

 of this Society for last year; and to the bifurcating plants with 

 curved tendril-like brancblets figured by Hugh Miller, ' Old Red 

 Sandstone,' plate 7, and 'Testimony of the Rocks, p. 434. From 

 the description in the former work, Chap. 5, it would appear that 

 the author had observed not only the stems but the rhizomes with 

 their Stigraaria-like areoles, though without suspecting them to 

 belong to the same plant. I have little doubt therefore that 

 materials exist in the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland for the 

 reconstruction of at least one species of this genus. Various 

 fragments which I have collected induce me to believe that it may 

 be found also in the Lower Coal-measures. 



I have noticed above the resemblance of flattened specimens of 

 Psilopliyton to ferns of the genus Trichomanites (Goeppert.) To 

 this genus, indeed, I was disposed to refer the specimens, until I 

 found that the internal structure was lycopodiaceous, and that the 

 branching filaments are true branchlets covered with minute 

 leaves, A comparison of the plants above described with Tricho- 

 manites Beinertii of Goeppert, and SpJienopliyllum {T.) hijidum 

 of Lindley and Hutton, will show at a glance the strong resem- 

 blance that subsists ; and, since the specimens on which these spe- 

 cies are founded do not appear to have exhibited internal structure 

 or venation, I think it still admits of a doubt whether they are really 

 ferns. By way of further caution on this point, I may remark 

 that in flattened stems, either of Psilotum or of its ancient 

 relative, the slender woody axis may leave a mark resembling the 

 nervure of a leaf, and thus complete the resemblance to a frond of 

 Trichomanes. 



Since writing the above. Professor G. S. Newberry has kindly 

 pointed out to me the close resemblance between the first species 

 above described and Haliserites Dechenianus of Goeppert ('Flora 

 der Uebergangpgebirges,' p. 88). I can scarcely doubt that this 

 so-called fucoid is in reality a plant of the genus above described, 

 but in such a state of compression that the stem appears like a 

 narrow frond, and the woody axis as a midrib. As this plant is 

 said to occur very abundantly at certain levels in the Devonian 

 Series of the Rhine, if my suspicions as to its nature are correct 



