270 FLOKA OF LOWER COAL MEASURES OF MISSOURI. 



TITANOPHYLLUIVI Renault, 1890. 

 Fl. toss, bassiu liouill. Commentry, pt. 2, p. 622. 



Among the material sent by Dr. Britts from North and Wood's coal 

 shaft, one-half mile east of North's Station, on the Kansas City, Clinton and 

 Springfield Railroad, there was fonnd what appears to be the base of a very 

 large and very thick leaf, like Corclaites in several respects. In a memo- 

 randum accompan}dng it was the statement that some of the leaves of this 

 plant were over 1 foot wide and 4 to 6 feet in length. This specimen, 

 though imperfectly preserved, seemed so strongly to resemble the large leaf 

 bases figured by Renault^ that further inquiries were made as to the occur- 

 rence and form of these specimens. In reply Dr. Britts writes: "They are 

 certainly immense leaves, and were attached without foot-stalks to large 

 stems or trees, like a corn blade. * * * I found several bases of these 

 leaves, but no points. * * * The bases were somewhat contracted 

 laterally and thickened where they appear to have been attached to round 

 stems, some of them at least 6 inches or more in diameter." 



The evidence so kindly furnished by Dr. Britts, as well as that afforded 

 by the fragment in hand, leads me to regard it as probable that we have here 

 to do with an American representative of that intei-esting genus of Grymno- 

 sperms, Titanopiiyllum, hitherto known only in the Commentry Basin'. The 

 generic description given by Renault^ is as follows: 



Leaves of great size, measuring 70 to 75 cm. long by 20 to 25 cm. wide, with smooth, 

 shining upper surface, traversed by longitudinal, hypodermal, parallel, nonbifurcatiug 

 bauds, inserted by a much enlarged elliptical base; outline rectangular, gradually 

 tapering toward the upper end, which is often fissured, the opposite extremity being 

 sometimes concave or cordate. The bands and tlie nerves, which are parallel for 

 nearly the whole length of the leaf, are curved in to terminate in the surface of inser- 

 tion ; a cuticle very thicli and smooth covers the epidermis. 



From a study of the internal structure of the Commentry species, 

 Titanopiiyllum Grand 'Euryi, Renault was enabled to demonstrate a Cycadean 

 organization analogous to that of the Colpoxylon Brongn. described from 

 silicfied material obtained at Autun. 



' Fl. foss. bassiu houill. Commentry, pt. ii, p. 622, pi. Ixis. 

 -Loc. cit., J). 622. 



