392 Dr. H. Woodward — On a Fossil Plant from Sumatra. 



dark, fine-grained, thinly-laminated, and bituminous coal-shale, appa- 

 rently detached from any other organism. The organism consists of 

 a disc-like polygonal body, surrounded, in one instance, by six, in 

 another by seven similar plates, and these again encircled by from 

 thirteen to fourteen similar but somewhat adpressed plates or scales 

 forming the outer circle. The surface of each separate plate or scale 

 is covered with a thin crust of pure coal, which is seen also to pass 

 down and penetrate between each separate polygonal body. 



In one specimen the central plate is absent, but six closely pressed 

 plates meet and fill up the interior of the disc, whilst the border is 

 composed of fourteen slightly elongated adpressed plates. 



Whilst engaged in the examination of this fossil, and instituting 

 comparisons with various other organisms, my friend Professor 

 Morris made the happy suggestion that I should compare it with the 

 fructification of Sparganium ramosum. 



Having been kindly permitted by my colleague Mr. W. Car- 

 ruthers, F.K.S., to consult the Herbarium under his charge, I was 

 delighted to find that the fruit upon dried specimens of Sparganium 

 ramosum was, after lateral compression, almost identical in appearance 

 with our fossil, as well seen in the enlarged figure on our PL X. 

 Pig. 4. Even the slight ridges, represented on the outer circle of 

 seeds in our figure, are seen in the dried and compressed prismati- 

 cally arranged drupe of Sparganium. Of course the fossil does not 

 represent an entire fruit. 



The following is the description of Sparganium ramosum, Hudson, 

 given in Sowerby's 'English Botany,' 1869, vol. xi. p. 5 : " Eadical 

 leaves broadly linear, stiff, not floating, sharply keeled and triquetrous 

 at the base, with the lateral faces channeled ; stem-leaves with their 

 'sheaths not inflated. Flowering-stem erect, stiff, branched at the 

 apex. Flower-heads in a panicle. Female flower-heads sessile on 

 the lateral branches of the panicle, one to three on each branch. 

 Male flower-heads very numerous, sessile towards the extremities of 

 the lateral branches and termination of the rachis of the panicle. 

 Stigma lanceolate-linear. Fkuit sessile, prismatic turbinate, with a 

 short beak. Leaves green, broadly linear, not pellucid." 



The Typhacece ("Cats-tails") are true bog or marsh-dwelling 

 rush-like plants, and this genus is met with in almost every part of 

 the world, including the British Islands. 



From the fact that the only other vegetable remains observed in 

 these coal-shales are linear leaves which answer to the description of, 

 and might very well have belonged to Sparganium (a truly aquatic 

 genus of plants) ; and further, that the only animal organisms 

 observed in these shales are hosts of freshwater snails (Melanice) and 

 a few scattered fish-teeth, 1 we may venture to conclude, both on 

 direct and collateral evidence, that the reference of our fossil to the 

 fruit of this genus is probably correct. 



1 The teeth are referred by Dr. Gunther to a Cyprinoid fish of the genus 

 Hexapsephus. The dorsal and pectoral spines are referred by him to a Siluroid 

 (also a freshwater form), and named Pseudtutropius Verbeeki (see Geol. Mag. 1876, 

 p. 440). 



