426 CONIFERALES INCERTAE SEDIS [CH. 



spirally disposed sporophylls. A few oval spores (fig. 799, c), 

 20 30 />t in diameter, were obtained from some of the sporophylls. 

 The specimen is probably an inflorescence of male flowers of a 

 Conifer; it bears some resemblance to Zeiller's Pseudoasterophyllites 

 Vidali 1 from the Kimeridgian of Spain, but in that type the leaves 

 are in whorls and the shoot appears to be sterile. 



The smaller example shown in fig. 799, d, e, may be part of a 

 microstrobilus of Elatides curvifolia, but in the absence of any 

 connexion with that species it should be retained in Masculostrobus. 



Holier and Halle 2 in their account of a flora from South-East 

 Scania, probably of Wealden age, describe some fragments of 

 microstrobili which they assign to Masculostrobus. The Cretaceous 

 specimens from Kreischerville described by Hollick and Jeffrey as 

 Strobilites microsporophorus s may be transferred to Masculostrobus. 

 This species, represented by portions of small strobili a few milli- 

 metres long, is characterised by sporophylls in which the leaf- 

 traces are enclosed by transfusion-tracheids, a feature suggesting 

 comparison with modern Araucarineae, and the spores have two 

 bladder-like wings. It may well be, as the authors of this type 

 suggest, that the extension of the exine of the microspores, now 

 restricted to the Abietineae and Podocarpineae, may be an ancient 

 character and formerly more widely spread among the Coniferales. 



PALISSYA. Endlicher. 



Endlicher 4 instituted this genus for a type of Conifer previously 

 described by Braun 5 from the Ehaetic flora of Franconia as 

 Cunninghamites sphenolepis, characterised by distichous, linear, 

 leaves and a megastrobilus composed of loosely imbricate scales. 

 The name Palissya was selected to commemorate Bernard Palissy. 

 The type-species, P. Braunii, was first figured by Goeppert 6 and 

 described in more detail by Schenk 7 who, as Nathorst points out, 

 included two distinct types of reproductive shoot under the name 

 Palissya: one of them is retained in that genus while the other 

 agrees with cones referred to Elatides 8 . Endlicher's designation 



1 Zeiller and Vidal (02) p. 7, PL n. 



2 Moller and Halle (13) p. 36, PI. vi figs. 918 



3 Hollick and Jeffrey (09) B. p. 66. 



4 Endlicher (47) p. 306. 5 Braun (43). 6 Goeppert (50) PI. XLVIH. 

 7 Schenk (67) A. p. 175, PI. XLI. figs. 214. 8 Ibid. fig. 7. 



