74 Mr. Thomas Hick on a Sporangiferous Spike 



as little more than an impression, and is imperfect at both 

 ends. It measures 125 mm. (5 in.) in length, and the 

 breadth across the bases of the bracts, to be afterwards 

 ■described, is 12 mm., or about half an inch. Here and 

 there small fragments of coal, irregular in shape, lie upon 

 the impression, and suggest that it may have been covered 

 originally by a thin film of that material. 



Like most of the fruit-spikes found in the coal mea- 

 sures, the one under description consists of, (1) a central 

 axis, which carries at intervals, (2) whorls of bracts, asso- 

 ciated with which are, (3) sporangia. On the characters 

 presented by these several parts, the affinities of the spike 

 will depend ; but seeing that the fossil has no structure, 

 and only the surface of fracture is open to observation, it 

 will be obvious that whatever affinities may be suggested 

 they can only be regarded as probabilities. 



The axis is faintly ridged longitudinally, and is for 

 the most part straight, presenting a slight curvature only 

 towards the base, which is probably accidental. It is 

 divided into about 20 internodes, which have a uniform 

 length of 6 mm. (a little over i-5th inch), save the lowest, 

 which measures 7 or 8 mm. Its greater length suggests 

 the possibility of its being the first internode of the vege- 

 tative part of the stem that carried the spike. The breadth 

 •of the axis is very uniform along the whole length, and 

 measures about 4 mm. (rather less than i-6th inch). The 

 nodes at which the bracts are attached are not swollen, 

 "but are marked with a shallow transverse groove. In 

 those nearer the lower end are small depressions, which 

 seem to correspond to the insertions of the anterior bracts, 

 which have been lost. The depressions, however, are not 

 well defined, and appear to vary somewhat in position, 

 some being on the groove itself, and others above or 

 h>elow it, so that this inference must be taken with some 

 reservation. It is possible, indeed, that the depressions 



