M. Brongniart on a Fossil Lycopodiacean Fruit. 75 



As regards the latter, I had referred to the large stems and 

 branches which constitute the genus Lepidodendron^ certain 

 spikes or cones of fructification which appeared to me to be cones 

 of those gigantic Ljcopodiaceae, and had given to them the 

 name of Lepidostrobiis. Subsequently these relationships were 

 completelj confii-med by the researches of Dr. Joseph Hooker 

 upon several specimens of Lepidostrohus'^ contained in the 

 nodules of carbonate of iron from the English coal-measures, 

 the internal structure of which had been sutficiently well 

 preserved to allow the form of the sporangia borne by the 

 scales of these cones, and the nature of the spores which they 

 contained, to be much better appreciated than I had been able 

 to do. 



Another remarkably well-preserved specimen, the origin of 

 which, however, was unknown, had been previously described 

 by om- illustrious associate, Robert Brown, imder the name of 

 Triplosporites. The profoimd investigation which he made of 

 this specimen in 1847, and the additions which he made on 

 publishing his memoir in 1851 1, after the examination of a 

 fine specimen which I showed him in 1849, left no doubt in 

 his mind as to its intimate relations with Lep)idostrohus^ from 

 which he hesitated to regard it as generically distinct. 



But the specimen described by Robert Brown J, as well as 

 that of the Museum of Strasbom'g (one-half of which has been 

 given to the Musemn at Paris, and was communicated to him 

 by me) , only presents small portions of these cones ; that de- 

 scribed by R. Brown evidently corresponds to the apex of one 

 of the cones : that which I had examined appeared to come 

 from the base ; but the perfect specimen which forms the sub- 

 ject of this notice proves that it belongs rather to the middle 

 part of one of these spikes of fructification. In fact the lower 

 part of cones of this kind presents veiy remarkable differences 

 of organization, which must materially modify the characters 

 ascribed to these fossils, and seem to indicate that there are 

 between them and Lepidostrohus greater differences than had 

 been supposed, at least if the organization of these latter fruits 

 could be sufficiently appreciated in the specimens described by 

 Dr. Joseph Hooker. 



The numerous but often very imperfectly preserved spe- 

 cimens studied by that excellent observer are most frequently 



* Memoirs of the Geol. Survey of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 440. 



t " Some Account of Triplosporites, an imdescribed FossilFruit," Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. vol. xx. p. 3. (Read to the Society June lo, 1847.) 



X This specimen was derived from the collection of Baron Roger ; and 

 a transverse section, preserved in the collection of the Marquis de Dr^, is 

 at present a portion of the collection of the museum. 



