V0 1889."'] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. G()3 



he clearly for the first time divined the true systematic relationships 

 of these plants. He established the genus Pychnophyllum for Flabel- 

 laria borassifolia of Sternberg and placed it with the genus Nceggera- 

 thia, in the new family Nceggerathiese, which he regarded as being 

 related on the one hand to theCycads and on the other to the Conifers. 

 He placed it between these two families, and described at some length 

 the form, nervation, and insertion of the leaves, but fell into the same 

 error thatCordahad in supposing thatit was destituteof medullary rays. 



There can be no doubt that this is the first correct reference of these 

 plants to their true systematic position, and by the law of priority 

 Bronguiart's name, Pychnophyllum, should be the accepted one, and, 

 indeed, Schimper* has reinstated it, but Unger's name, Cordiates, 

 has obtained such wide acceptance, both in this couutry and Europe, 

 that it is not within the scope of the present paper to insist upon 

 changing it. 



Goppertt was the next to take up the Nceggerathieoe, but he followed 

 the older writers in relegating it to the Monocotyledons. His mention 

 of Pychnophyllum was brief and unimportant, the main part beiug taken 

 up with a description of the then known species of Nceggerathia. 



Iul855Geiuitz's work appeared on the carboniferous plants of Saxony.f 

 In this the Nceggerathiese were again correctly referred to the Dicotyl- 

 edons being placed next to the Cycads, and Unger's name Cordiates was 

 restored in place of Pychnophyllum, which latter name had in some un- 

 accountable manner begun to be quoted as 1852. This would of course 

 give Cordaites priority, and is probably the reason it has been so gener- 

 ally accepted. Certain it is that from this time it has been, with the 

 exception of Schimper, noted above, the accepted name, and there has 

 also apparently been little or no question as to its dicotyledonous na- 

 ture, although Ettiugshausen, in a paper published in the same year 

 (1855), placed it in the Lycopodiacere. 



Geinitz reduced the following genera to Cordaites, or rather pointed 

 out that they were the names that had been applied to the different 

 parts of this plant: Flahellaria ex. p. Sternberg, Rhabdotus Presl, 

 Sternbergia Artis, Artisia Sternberg, Pychnophyllum Goppert 1852.§ 

 He mentioned only two species viz : C. principalis German sp. and G. 

 borassifolius Sternberg sp. 



In his Dyas|| Geinitz enumerated two additional species, while Gop- 

 pert admitted but two from the Permian in his flora fl of that forma- 

 tion published in 1864-65. In 1870-'72 Schimper,** as stated above, 

 restored the name Pychnophyllum, but was at that time only able to 

 enumerate four species. Iu the third volume of his Traite" published in 



* Traits Pal. V6g., Vol. n, p. 190. 



tFoss Fl. d. Uebergausgeb. 1852, pp. 209-220. 



t Verstein. d. Steinkobenfl. in Locbsen, p. 40. 



§ Steinkoblfl. vou Radnitz in Bobm. 



|| Dyas oder d. Zecbsteinform. n. d. Rotbliegende, 1862, pp. 148, 149. 



HFoss. Fl. d. Perm. Form., pp. 159, 160. 



**Pal. V6g., Vol. ii, pp. 190-192. 



