DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE 



OF THE 



LOWER GREENSAND (APTIAN) PLANTS 

 OF BRITAIN, 



Group THALLOPHYTA. 



The AJgao and Fungi were dealt Avith comprehensively in the 

 first part of this Catalogue. The only Lower Greensand form 

 of any importance is " Chondrites Taryionii" which is very 

 plentiful in some quarries, and is often mentioned by the earlier 

 writers (see Stopes, 1913, pp. 249 et seq., text- fig. 8). The 

 mycelia of undescribed fungi are present in many of the wood 

 and other sections of petrified Lower Greensand plants. 



Group BRYOPHYTA. 



The Bryophyta appear to be entirely unrepresented in the 

 Lower Greensand Flora of Britain. This is probably due to 

 the nature of the deposits, which is very unfavourable for the 

 petrifaction of delicate plants (see p. xx). 



The preceding Wealden Flora (sec Seward, 1894, pp. 15 et seq.) 

 has yielded a few Bryophytes, but, as is often remarked, fossils 

 of this group are rare even in the beds in which they occur. 

 As the Lower Greensand deposits are prepondcratingly marine, 

 it is not surprising that mosses and liverworts should not be 

 represented in thorn, for Mich delicate land-plants do not travel 

 so readily as drift-wood and stouter branches. 



