FLORA OF THE DEVONIAN. 543 



by Mr Matthew in tlie grapliitic shale in the city of St John. Some- 

 what larger specimens have since been obtained from the same bed ; 

 but I have not seen the plant elsewhere. 



Fsilophyton prnncejjs, Dn. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. xv. 

 p. 479, figs. 1 a to 1 i. This remarkable plant, so charac- 

 teristic of the whole Devonian system at Gaspe, filling many 

 beds with its rhizomes, in the manner of the Stigmaria of the Coal 

 measures, and preserved in such abundance and perfection that 

 it is much better know to us in its form, structure, and habit of 

 growth than any other plant of the period, proves, as might have 

 been anticipated, to have had a wide distribution in space as well 

 as in time. Fragments of its stems are distinguishable in the sand- 

 stones of Perry, and numerous fine specimens occur among the 

 plants from New York State committed to me by Professor Hall. It 

 occurs in the Hamilton group at Schoharie, New York, and at 

 Akron, Ohio, in the Chemung group at Cascade Falls, and in the 

 Catskill group at Jefferson. Most of the specimens are stems, 

 which show the habit of growth very perfectly. They confirm my 

 inference from the structure of the Gaspe specimens that the 

 plant was woody and rigid, as they often do not lie in one plane, but 

 extend upward and downward in the manner of firm branches 

 buried in sand. Most of the New York specimens seem to have 

 been drifted ; but groups of rhizomes, possibly in situ, occur in 

 argillaceous sandstone from Fullenham, Schoharie, and in similar 

 beds at Cazenovia and Cascade Falls. These are the only instances 

 presented by Professor Hall's collections of root-beds resembling those 

 of Gaspe. In New York only the Upper and Middle Devonian 

 have as yet afforded land plants; but in Gaspe Fsilophyton princeps 

 occurs in the Lower Devonian, and fragments which have belonged 

 to it occur in the Upper Silurian. 



Psilojjhyton elegans, Dn. (Fig. 189, E, C). Stems slender, pro- 

 duced in tufts from thin rhizomes, bifurcating and curving at their 

 summits. Surface smooth, with very delicate wrinkles. Fructi- 

 fication in groups of small, broadly oval scales, borne on the main 

 stem below the points of bifurcation. I distinguish this species from 

 Psilophyton princeps by its smaller size, its smoother surface, its 

 growth in tufts, and the different form of its organs of reproduction. 

 Still it must be admitted that imperfect specimens could not readily 

 be distinguished from branchlcts of P. princeps. It was found by 

 Mr Matthew in the shales near Carlton. 



Psilophyton (?) glabrum, Dn. Smooth, flattened, bifurcating stems, 

 two lines in width, with a slender woody axis. These are objects 



