216 FLOEA OF LOWER COAL MEASURES OF MISSOURI. 



Lepidophyllum missouriense n. sp. 



PL LVIII, Fig. 2; PI. LX, Figs. 1-3; PI. LXI, Figs, la-h; PI. LXII, Figs, a, h, c, d, e; 

 PI. LXIII, Figs. 3, 3«. 



Coues large, probably oblong or oval; bracts very large, 11 to 13 

 cm. long, 17 to 2.5 mm. wide above the middle; blades rather thick, very 

 ■finely striated, oblong-lanceolate, broadest generally near the tojj of the 

 middle third of the length, acuminately prolonged at the apex, slightly 

 contracted f) to 8 mm. above the base which is dilated or auriculate 

 at the point of union, at a very open angle, to the sporangiopliores ; spo- 

 rangiophores 23 to 2fi mm. long, nearly as wide as the lower part of tbe 

 blade, triangular, thick, very narrow at the base, and glossy, the sides of 

 the axis strongly concave toward the top, nearly straight at the base, the 

 lateral margins generally nearly straight or slightl}" concave np to the base 

 of the lateral projection or auricle ; midrib 2 mm. wide at the base, strong, 

 passing distinct into the apex, bordered on either side on the ventral sur- 

 face b}" a rounded fuiTOw, or two rather close parallel lines, the surface of 

 the blade being marked b}^ fine parallel, longitudinal, rather faint lines, 15 

 to 18 of which fall within a millimeter; sporangia, or Lepidocystes, 18 tc 

 25 mm. long, 8 to 12 mm. wide, rather naiTower at the base, with truncate- 

 rounded ends, consisting of a thin-walled sack, smooth and shining, gran- 

 ular under the lens, breaking longitudinally, and usually seen spread in 

 a trapezoidal form averaging about 2 cm. in length, 18 mm. in width at 

 one end, 15 mm. at the other, the corners rounded and often slight! 3^ rup- 

 tiu'ed ; macrospores (Triletes) apparently round, a little more than 1 mm. in 

 diameter, and marked by a prominent triradiate keel, the surface of the 

 spore wall being dull and smooth. 



This species, abundant at Gilkerson's Ford, presents some variation in 

 the width of the blade, Fig. a, PL LXII, representing the narrowest I have 

 seen, while Fig. 2, PL LVIII, shows a bract rather above the average in 

 width. In a few specimens the mucronate apex is slightly prolonged. In 

 general, however, great uniformity prevails in both the size and the form of 

 the bracts, as well as in the pronounced dilation or auriculation at the point 

 of union of the blade with the sporangiophore. The broadest portion of 

 the blade is always above the middle, sometimes considerably above it. 

 The surface of the bract appears polished, even under a weak lens, though 



