CALAMARIEAE. 337 



to the extremity of a branch with striated internodes and somewhat 

 swollen nodes, and showing distinctly the characters of Asterophyllitae. 

 According to the sketch of a longitudinal section by Mr. Bowman repro- 

 duced in Binney 1 , the spike would appear to consist entirely of whorls all 

 like one another. In the interval between every two whorls is a row 

 of roundish bodies, which Binney explains as macrospores, but which 

 Weiss 2 considers to be sporangia. It is in favour of the correctness of the 

 sketch alluded to, that Weiss 3 figures a fossil of exactly similar structure, 

 Bowmanites germanicus, Weiss, from the Gustav mine near Schwarzwaldau 

 in Lower Silesia. Whether Volkmannia Dawsoni 4 , which will be described 

 presently, belongs, as Weiss thinks, to the group which we are considering, 

 is in my opinion very doubtful. The structure of the axis is not in favour 

 of its belonging to Calamarieae. The same structure might also have been 

 present in well-ascertained Bowmanitae, and remove them from Calama- 

 rieae ; but only fortunate discoveries can enable us to determine these points. 



Lastly, there are a few very imperfectly known fructifications which 

 should be mentioned, and which, though differing to some extent from 

 each other, have been referred by various authors to Archaeocalamites. 



There is first of all a series of doubtful impressions known as Pothocites, 

 Paterson from the lowest beds of the Carboniferous formation of Scotland 

 (the Calciferous limestone series), which Kidston 5 has sought to place with 

 Calamarieae. The older literature of these objects has also been collected 

 by this author. The remains in question are long spikes on the extremities 

 of branches like those of Asterophyllitae, and bearing short leaves. The 

 spikes are divided by constrictions into cylindrical members, and in 

 each constriction is a sterile leaf-whorl composed of short filiform free 

 leaves. The only quite perfect known specimen, Pothocites Grantoni, 

 Paters. 6 has eight cylindrical members. These members are always 

 much compressed and converted into a tolerably thick compact cover- 

 ing of coal, and appear to consist of numerous small ovoid bodies 

 (sporangia ?) arranged in longitudinal and transverse rows. Besides these 

 bodies there are also peculiar star-shaped figures with from four to five 

 rays, also disposed in longitudinal fows and belonging to the surface of 

 the member, so that they are not visible when that is badly preserved ; 

 the rays have raised margins 7 . Kidston considers these stars to be 

 sporangia, but I must doubt this, as I have already intimated ; but though 

 I have had opportunity of examining several specimens, I am unable to 

 offer any other explanation of them. Again Stur 8 sees in Asterophyllites 

 spaniophyllus, Feistm., described by O. Feistmantel 9 from the Carboni- 



1 Binney (1), n, t. 12, f. 3. a Weiss (5), p. 200. s Weiss (5), p. 201 ; t. 21, f. 12. 



4 Williamson (9). * Kidston (4). Kidston (4), t. 12, f. 13. 7 Kidston (4), t. 9, 



ff. 3-5. 8 Stur (6). 9 O. Feistmantel (5), p. 498 ; t. 14, f. 5. 



Z 



