Jurassic plants from Yorkshire — 107° 
inthe neighbourhood of Whitby, from which all the other examples! 
of W. gigas have been obtained. 
One side of the specimen shows a basin or urn-shaped form, 
while above this, in the irregular part of the matrix, the remains 
| of synangia are seen (cf. text-fig. 1 A). 
The ‘flower’ seems then to have been composed of 18-20 micro- 
_sporophylls, each 7-8 mm. wide, united to form a cup-like structure 
5-6ems. wide. The base of the cup has been irregularly broken 
away, but tapered considerably, perhaps to a stalk no more than 
1 em. wide. Down the centre of each sporophyil forming the 
cup, was a series of closely approximated conspicuous depres- 
sions, elliptical or reniform in shape; they sometimes appear 
to le in a groove and give the flower a very characteristic 
appearance. As we cannot be quite sure whether the example 
now seen is a mould of the inner surface of the original flower, it 
is somewhat difficult to arrive at an interpretation of these 
structures, but they are probably to be compared with the de- 
pressions figured by Prof. Nathorst in W. whitbiensis as corre- 
sponding to rudimentary synangia; in the present case however, 
only a single row of these depressions is seen. 
The shape of the cup formed by the united sporophylls calls 
for some notice. It is considerably different from the forms 
already described and may be made out from Pl. VI, fig. 1 and 
from the text-fig. 2. The sporophylls spread outwards from the 
base, but then curve round inwards as they continue, curving 
outwards again as they become free; in this way a very 
characteristic ridge is formed which runs round the periphery 
of the cup. 
The upper parts of the sporophylls are not so clearly seen. 
In most cases the free portions have been broken away, but in 
the view shown in text-fig. 2, part of a sporophyll seems to con- 
tinue upwards for about 2-3 cms., and there are indications that 
branches were given off in this region which projected inwards 
towards the centre of the flower. If this were really the case, 
the flower must have shown considerable similarity to that of 
W. spectabilis Nath.* It is impossible to determine how the 
synangia were produced, though the remains of many of these 
structures are seen in the matrix. Their irregular position in the 
rock supports the conclusion that they were formed in the 
manner seen in W. spectabilis rather than as in W. whathiensis. 
The best preserved synangia show the usual reniform shape, 
text-fig. 1B, and a large number of fine striations traversing 
them. All traces of their original substance have disappeared, 
* Cf. my restoration, text-fig. 2, Q.J.G@.S. 1913, p. 231, and Nathorst’s in 
‘*Die Microsporophylle von Williamsonia” Arkiv. for Botanik, Bd. 12, No. 6, 
p. 7, 1912. 
