L] BENSTEDTIA 445 



rounded distal border, a mucronate apex, and a striated dorsal 

 face. Velenovsky 1 records this species from Lower Cretaceous 

 rocks in Bohemia but without the essential evidence of cones: the 

 same author describes a smaller type from Bohemia as C. minimum 21 

 (fig. 810, C). Schenk 3 figures some fragments from Lower Creta- 

 ceous rocks in the Tyrol as Cyparissidium cretaceum, but in the 

 absence of cones there is no sufficient reason for their inclusion in 

 Cyparissidium. Hollick's record of C. gracile from the Cretaceous 

 of Block Island 4 is based on insufficient evidence. 



BENSTEDTIA. Seward. 



In 1862 Mackie 5 figured a fossil stem from Lower Greensand 

 rocks in Kent which Konig afterwards named Dracaena Benstedtii. 

 This name was adopted by Morris and Mantell for the supposed 

 'Dragon tree.' In 1868 Carruthers 6 expressed the opinion that 

 the fossils are more likely to be Pandanaceous stems, while Gardner 7 

 spoke of a possible Cycadean affinity. An examination of Mackie's 

 specimens and others in the British Museum led me to suggest a 

 comparison with stems of recent species of Cycads, particularly 

 stems of Zamia which do not retain the armour of leaf-bases 

 (fig. 381 B, vol. in. p. 5) characteristic of most Cycadales, and to 

 institute a new generic name Benstedtia 8 in preference to a designa- 

 tion implying an improbable relationship. The genus is defined 

 as follows: stems characterised by irregular and interrupted 

 grooves and broader ridges running transversely, with occasional 

 small elliptical protuberances irregularly disposed on the surface. 

 There are no distinct leaf-scars but branch-scars occasionally 

 occur; the upward convergence of the transverse wrinklings indi- 

 cates bifurcation in some specimens. 



The English examples reach a length of over 40 cm. and a 

 diameter of 15 cm. Smaller specimens with similar surface-cha- 

 racters are described by Fliche 9 from Lower Cretaceous beds in 

 I France as Coniferocaulon colymbeaeforme and compared by him 

 to stems of Araucaria imbricata : other examples closely resembling 

 1 Velenovsky (85) B. p. 17, PL vm. 2 Ibid. Pis. ix., x. 



3 Schenk (76) B. p. 167, PL xxix. figs. 10, 11. 

 4 Hollick (06) p. 46, PL ra. fig. 11. 



5 Mackie (62). 6 Carruthers (68) p. 154 (footnote). 



7 Gardner (86 2 ) p. 201. 8 Seward (96 2 ) p. 216. 9 Fliche (00). 



