THE PROBLEM 39 



lies and Ivies, with many other familiar trees 

 and shrubs, have been described from Upper 

 Cretaceous rocks; even if we cannot always 

 trust the identification, the facts are at any 

 rate sufficient to prove the presence of a great 

 variety of Dicotyledons, in habit quite similar 

 to many of those now living. A certain number 

 of Monocotyledons are also found; in the case 

 of the great family of Palms, the evidence appears 

 to be quite conclusive, for leaves, fruits, and 

 stems with their structure preserved are all 

 well known from Cretaceous rocks. 



The oldest recorded fossil of the Palm kind 

 appears to be a Cocoa-nut (or similar fruit) 

 from the Cretaceous rocks of France, of an 

 age nearly corresponding to our own Upper 

 Greensand. Thus the great family of the Palms 

 is certainly one of the oldest known among the 

 Angiosperms, though there were plenty of Dicoty- 

 ledons of the same age. 



In the Upper Cretaceous beds of Japan, 

 a number of petrified plant-remains, with their 

 structure preserved, have lately been discovered 

 by Dr. Marie Stopes and Prof. Fujii. In this 

 Flora Angiosperms and Gymnosperms were almost 

 equally numerous, to judge from the few species 

 already described. Among the former is a 

 fossil flower probably belonging to the Lily 

 family. 



