264 CORDAITEAE [CH. 



REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 

 Cordaianthus. Grand'Eury. 



We have as yet no definite knowledge of the nature of the re- 

 productive organs of Mesoxylon and Poroxylon, but having regard 

 to their close resemblance in other respects to Cordaites, particularly 

 in the case of Mesoxylon, the presumption is that some of the seeds 

 and fertile shoots attributed to Cordaites may belong to other 

 members of the Cordaitales. Despite the abundance of Cordaites, 

 or at least of material assigned to that genus, and the comparative 

 frequency of fertile shoots in actual connexion with foliage-shoots, 

 the practical identity of Mesoxylon and Cordaites leaves precludes 

 any confident use of the latter name in a strict sense. 



In 1822 Brongniart 1 described a small bud-like fossil of Tertiary 

 age as Antholithes liliacea, and this generic name in the form 

 Antholithus became widely used for fertile shoots or flowers from 

 different geological horizons. As knowledge became more precise 

 other names replaced Antholithus, though Renault 2 retained it 

 for some inflorescences from Commentry which could not definitely 

 be included in Cordaites. Lindley and Hutton 3 employed the 

 genus for a specimen, now recognised as a Cordaitean fertile shoot, 

 from the Coal Measures which they called Antholithus Pitcairniae, 

 the specific name being chosen to indicate a possible affinity to 

 the Bromeliaceous genus Pitcairnia. A few years later Morris 4 

 described a similar inflorescence as A. anomalus. In 1872 

 Carruthers 5 substituted Brongniart 's term Cardiocarpon for 

 Antholithus and called A. Pitcairniae Cardiocarpon Lindleyi and 

 Morris's species C. anomalum. The specific name Lindleyi has 

 been widely adopted, but there would seem to be no adequate 

 reason for disregarding the priority-rule. It is, however, cus- 

 tomary to use Grand'Eury's term Cordaianthus for all Cordaitean 

 inflorescences. Goeppert 6 suggested the name Botryoconus for 

 an inflorescence similar to C. Pitcairniae and for this C. E. Weiss 7 

 substituted Noeggerathianthus on the ground that he considered 

 Goeppert's specimen to be the male inflorescence of Noeggerathia. 



1 Brongniart (22) A. PL xiv. fig. 7. 2 Renault and Zeiller (90) A. p. 593. 



3 Lindley and Hutton (33) A. PL LXXXII. 



4 Morris (40) A. PL XXVIH. fig. 5. 5 Carruthers (72 3 ) B. 



6 Goeppert (65) p. 152. 7 Weiss, C. E. (69) B. p. 201. 



