156 Mr. A. C. Seward on 



branches of deeply dissected forms such as SphenopJiyllum 

 saxifrage? folium or ^". myriopliyllum. In Stur's admirable 

 figures, the accuracy of which I can vouch for, having had 

 an opportunity of seeing the original specimens, the verticils 

 of leaves on the Asterophyllitean branches are either absent 

 or at best badly preserved, but where they do occur they 

 have the appearance of true Asterophyllitean leaves. Such 

 leaves are best seen on the third internode from the bottom 

 of branch G. Fig. 5. Taf. XV. 



The specimen before us {Fig. 1), although much smaller 

 than those in the Vienna museum, shews still more clearly 

 than they the association of Sphenophylloid and Astero- 

 phyllitean leaves. On the Asterophyllitean branch there 

 are six internodes and five on the Sphenophylloid branch — 

 length of main branch 87 cm., small branch 5*5 cm. ; on the 

 third node there are portions of twelve leaves all of which 

 are single. The form of the Sphenophylloid leaves is best 

 seen in the case of those at the summit of the branch ; those 

 on the lower nodes lie at an angle to the matrix of the 

 rock and are only partially seen. There is not the least 

 doubt as to the attachment of the two branches ; on the left 

 side of the main one is a broken piece of another Spheno- 

 phylhnn branch. The side branch may possibly have borne 

 a Volkmannia strobilus, as do those figured by Stur. The 

 specimen {Fig. 1) is from Waldenburg, in Silesia; the geo- 

 logical horizon is not mentioned on the label. 



In cases where the upper part of SpJienophyllum stems 

 have broad cuneiform leaves of the type Splienopliyllum 

 Schlotheimii, &c, and more finely-divided leaves occur on 

 the lower part, the form of the latter kind is considered by 

 many as a morphological variety due to submersion of the 

 lower part of the plant. In the case of Stur's specimens 

 and the one here figured this variation in leaf-form can 

 hardly be explained by such a hypothesis. Schimper 1 

 1 Handbuch der Palteontologie. II. Band, ii. Lieferung, p. 178. 



