64 Mr. R. Kidston on British Carhomferous Lycopods. 



In Bothrodendron punctatum the fruit lias evidently been 

 borne in lateral cones^ from which originate the two vertical 

 rows of large Ulodendroid scars ; and one marked feature 

 which distinguishes the large scars of Bothrodendron from 

 those of the other Ulodendroid Lycopods is that in Bothro- 

 dendron the umbilicus of the large scar is eccentric, whereas 

 in the Ulodendroid Sigillarioi and Lepidodendra the umbili- 

 cus is central or approximately so. 



In Bothrodendron minutifolium^ Boulay, sp., the fruit is 

 borne in long narrow cones at the terminations of the 

 branches. The only specimen of the fruit of this genus 

 which I have yet seen was collected by Mr. W. Hemingway 

 at Moiikfon Main Colliery, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, in 

 shale over the " Barnsley Thick Coal.'" This specimen he 

 has kindly forwarded to me for examination. The cone is 

 attached to a stem which still bears the foliage of the species. 

 Unfortunately the cone is imperfect in its upper part, so its 

 full length cannot be determined. The portion preserved is 

 3^ inches long and at its thickest part rather over \ inch 

 wide. The central axis in the compressed cone is seen to 

 give off at right angles a number of transverse bars, which 

 probably represent the basal portions of the bracts that bore 

 the sporangia. Their leafy extension rises up at almost right 

 angles to their basal portion, and is therefore nearly parallel 

 with the axis. These bracts are closely placed, as many as 

 eleven being contained on the axis in the space of half an 

 inch. The specimen is shown nat. size in PI. IV. tig. 6. 



I have received a very interesting specimen of a portion of a 

 stem of Bothrodendron minutifoliura from Mr. Landsborough. 

 The lower part of this specimen is decorticated and shows 

 the subepidermal leaf-scars. These are not simple as sup- 

 posed*, but when well preserved are seen to consist of two 

 linear elongated elevations, which are frequently connected in 

 the centre, as shown in tigs. 5 and bb. They are very 

 similar to those of Sigillaria. 



The foliage of B. minutifolium and punctatum is very 

 small and the ultimate ramifications of the dichotomously 

 divided branches have great similarity to those of recent 

 Lycopods, as has been pointed out by Zeiller. Their syste- 

 matic position is, however, probably intermediate between 

 Lepidodendron and Sigillaria. 



The genus Bothrodendron is not, however, restricted to the 

 Coal-measures, for I have received from various localities in 

 the Calciferous-ISandstone series specimens of a species of 

 this genus, which I here describe. 



* Zeilkr, /. c. p. 181. 



