XLVIIlJ PITYITES 373 



which I was able to examine in the Vienna collection, is too frag- 

 mentary to be determined. The occurrence of linear leaves in 

 fascicles is in itself no real evidence of Abietineous affinity: the 

 clustered leaves of Czekanowskia and Phoenicopsis, especially the 

 former, though essentially similar in habit to the foliage-shoots of 

 some Abietineae are generally believed to belong to plants of 

 another class. The evidence furnished by petrified wood has 

 already been considered: the important point is that there is no 

 satisfactory case of the occurrence of fossil wood of Palaeozoic age 1 

 having typical Abietineous features, a fact of importance in relation 

 to the widely spread Palaeozoic woods agreeing in essentials with 

 the Araucarian type. 



Pityites Solmsi Seward. 



This name was proposed for some cones attached to foliage- 

 shoots as well as detached cones and vegetative branches from 

 Wealden rocks on the coast of Sussex 2 : the type-specimens form 

 part of the rich B/ufford collection in the British Museum. The 

 branches are covered with the elongated persistent bases of scale- 

 leaves and in the axils of these are borne numerous long needles 

 (fig. 772). The cones are oblong and bear broad, rounded, scales 

 like those of Pinus Strobus, P. excelsa (fig. 773; cf. fig. 704), Picea 

 and Abies; they agree closely with Pityostrobus Carruthersi (Gard.) 

 as also with P. Andraei (Coem.) 3 from Lower Cretaceous rocks in 

 Belgium and with the smaller cones from the Potomac formation 

 described by Fontaine 4 as Abietites ellipticus. The preservation is 

 not sufficiently good to show the number of leaves in each foliage- 

 spur: the needles may have been borne in dense clusters as in 

 Cedrus. In general habit the species resembles Cedrus and Larix 

 though the greater length of the needles is more in accordance with 

 recent species of Pinus. Shoots similar to those of this species are 

 represented by Prepinus statensis Jeff. 5 from the Cretaceous beds 

 of Kreischerville. Dr Stopes 6 , following the example of Berry, 

 refers this species to Abietites. 



1 See page 220, also Thomson and Allin (12). 



2 Seward (95) A. p. 196, Pis. xvirr., xix. 3 Gardner (86 2 ). 



4 Fontaine (89) B. PI. cxxxirr. figs. 2 \. 



5 Rollick and Jeffrey (09) B. p. 19. 



6 Stopes (15) p. 157. 



