Fossil Plants from Lower Carboniferous Rocks. 263 
SEEDS. 
The genus Cardiocarpus, Bronet.,) has been divided into 
several genera, which, however, all appear to hold a close 
relationship to each other. 
While Cardiocarpus, Brongt., is still retained for certain 
seeds, Samaropsis, Goppert, and Cordaicarpus, Geinitz, have 
been founded for seeds which, I believe, would have been 
included by Brongniart in his genus. 
Brongniart’s original description of his genus is :— 
Cardiocarpus, Brongniart, 1828. 
Cardiocarpon, Prodrome, p. 87. 
“Fruit compressed, lenticular, cordate or  reniform, 
acuminate.” 
He included in it five species, C. majus, C. Pomieri, C. 
cordiforme, C. ovatum, and C. acutwm. 
None of these species were described when Brongniart 
gave them as members of his genus, and only one of these 
names appears to have since had a description added to it, viz., 
Cardiocarpus acutus, which was described by Lindley and 
Hutton in their “Fossil Flora,” vol. i., pl. lxxvi., 1883. 
Lindley and Hutton are, therefore, the authors of Cardio- 
carpus acutus, and not Brongniart, though they give 
Brongniart’s name as the authority for their species, and 
refer in support of this to his “ Prodrome;”’ still, there is no 
evidence to show that the fossil so named by Lindley and 
Hutton was similar to that meant by Brongniart, for Brong- 
niart never gave any description of his plant. We, in fact, 
must presume it was not the same if the genus Samaropsis, 
Géppert, is to be retained, for the distinctly winged seed 
of Cardiocarpus acutus® would, according to Géppert’s 
description of his genus, place it in Samaropsis. 
Géppert’s definition of Samaropsis is very short, and not 
very clear. I append it here. 
1 Prodrome, p. 87, 1828. 
2 This I believe to be the seed of Cordaites principalis, Germar sp. 
VOL, XII. Ss 
