CONIFERAE. 55 



the necessary state of preservation. They are less abundant in the Jurassic 

 system. The oldest remains, which are not however absolutely free from 

 doubt, come from the Rhaetic beds of Schonen. All known Mesozoic 

 cones of Abietineae belong, as far as I am aware, to the genera which have 

 no squamae apophysatae. The Cenomanian beds are the earliest which 

 supply forms of the section Pinea of Pinus. A few cones are known from 

 the lowest Chalk of Hainault in Belgium ; they recall Strobus and Cembra, 

 but may be nearer to Strobus on account of the winged seeds. The 

 Rhaetic form just mentioned has been described and figured by Nathorst 1 ; 

 it is not free from doubt, though the figure certainly resembles a small 

 expanded cone of Cedrus. It is possible that this Pinites Lundgreni, Nath. 

 has been rightly interpreted, since winged seeds of Coniferae are associated 

 with it, but these after all may belong to Palissya which occurs in the 

 same beds. Saporta 2 figures a splendidly preserved cone, which shows 

 even the inner structure perfectly, as Pinus Coemansi, Sap. Unfortunately 

 the label which bears the words, ' Oolitic formation, with no further in- 

 dication of locality or position ; from the collection of M. Coemans,' shows, 

 notwithstanding Saporta's remarks on the point, that it is not certain that 

 the fossil is Jurassic. Carruthers 3 has described several recognisable but 

 not very well preserved cones of Abietineae from the Wealden under the 

 names of Pinites Dunkeri, Carr., P. Mantellii, Carr., and P. patens, Carr., 

 also a splendid and indubitable Cedar-cone 4 , P. Leckenbyi, Carr., from 

 the Neocomian strata of the Isle of Wight, and from the same beds 5 an 

 elongated cone like those of Pinus, which he has named Pinites sussexknsis, 

 Carr. The carbonised specimens also from the Neocomian or Wealden 

 formations of La Louviere in Hainault, described by Coemans 6 , are in 

 very fine preservation. Of these, Pinites Corneti, Coem. is no doubt a 

 Cedar-cone; P. Heeri, P. depressa, and P. Toillezi recall Cembra and 

 Strobus ; P. Andraei appears to stand between Strobus and Taeda. 

 Lastly, P. Omalii and P. Briarti look very like cones of Picea or Tsuga. 

 Various single cone-scales from the Chalk of Greenland are figured in 

 Heer 7 ; two fine cones, Pinites longissima, Vel. and P. Protopicea are 

 figured by Velenovsky 8 . The cones from the Cenomanian beds of Moletein 

 in Moravia may also be mentioned ; one of these, Pinites Reussii, Cda., a 

 fragment only, is described by Reuss 9 , the other, P. Quenstedti, Heer, 

 having a well-preserved surface and resembling cones from the Mexican 

 group of Taeda, will be found in Heer 10 . A series of cones from the 

 English Eocene formations have been figured by Starkie Gardner u . 



The needles of Coniferae are, like the cones, widely diffused through 



1 Nathorst (2), p. 63 ; t. 15, ff. i, 2. 2 de Saporta (4), vol. iii, p. 474 ; * I 9 l - 3 Carruthers (1). 

 * Carruthers (2). 5 Carruthers (1). 6 Coemans (1). 7 Heer (5). Velenovsky (1), t. 7, 

 f. i and f. 4. 9 Reuss (1). 10 Heer (7), t. 2. Gardner (1) (1884). 



