﻿Vol. 
  53.] 
  S1GILLARIA 
  AND 
  GLOSSOPTERIS 
  IN 
  SOUTH 
  AFEICA. 
  337 
  

  

  continent. 
  In 
  writing 
  to 
  Hooker, 
  he 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  I 
  have 
  sometimes 
  

   speculated 
  whether 
  there 
  did 
  not 
  exist 
  somewhere 
  during 
  long 
  ages 
  

   an 
  extremely 
  isolated 
  continent, 
  perhaps 
  near 
  the 
  South 
  Pole.' 
  1 
  

  

  In 
  rocks 
  older 
  than 
  those 
  containing 
  Glossojrteris 
  or 
  the 
  associated 
  

   genera 
  in 
  Australia 
  and 
  South 
  Africa, 
  some 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  by 
  Eeistmantel 
  2 
  and 
  others 
  which 
  prove 
  the 
  existence 
  in 
  the 
  

   Southern 
  Hemisphere 
  of 
  Culm, 
  Lower 
  Carboniferous, 
  and 
  Devonian 
  

   species 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  Glossopteris-Rora. 
  In 
  earlier 
  

   Carboniferous 
  times 
  some 
  at 
  least 
  of 
  the 
  characteristic 
  plants 
  seem 
  

   to 
  have 
  had 
  an 
  almost 
  world-wide 
  distribution. 
  May 
  we 
  recognize 
  

   in 
  the 
  Lepidodendra 
  and 
  Sigillarice 
  of 
  South 
  Africa 
  and 
  South 
  

   America 
  survivors 
  of 
  this 
  older 
  pre- 
  Glossopteris 
  vegetation? 
  Or, 
  on 
  

   the 
  other 
  hand, 
  does 
  the 
  commingling 
  of 
  Northern 
  and 
  Southern 
  

   Hemisphere 
  forms 
  recently 
  recorded 
  point 
  to 
  local 
  southerly 
  ex- 
  

   tensions 
  of 
  certain 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  flora 
  ? 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  decided 
  answer 
  to 
  these 
  questions. 
  In 
  

   certain 
  plant-beds 
  of 
  Culm 
  age 
  in 
  Argentina 
  there 
  occur 
  Lepido- 
  

   dendron 
  and 
  other 
  genera 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  recorded 
  also 
  from 
  beds 
  

   of 
  the 
  same 
  age 
  in 
  Australia. 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  country 
  we 
  have 
  as 
  

   yet 
  no 
  evidence 
  that 
  these 
  Culm 
  types 
  survived 
  into 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  

   the 
  Glossoj>teris-f[ora,, 
  nor 
  have 
  we 
  any 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  

   such 
  types 
  in 
  India. 
  

  

  Bearing 
  in 
  mind 
  the 
  danger 
  of 
  relying 
  too 
  much 
  on 
  negative 
  

   evidence, 
  we 
  may, 
  however, 
  express 
  the 
  view 
  that 
  in 
  Australia 
  

   the 
  Lower 
  Carboniferous 
  and 
  Devonian 
  plants 
  gave 
  place 
  in 
  Permo- 
  

   Carboniferous 
  times 
  to 
  a 
  practically 
  new 
  set 
  of 
  forms, 
  Glossopteris, 
  

   Gangamopteris, 
  and 
  other 
  genera. 
  In 
  India 
  we 
  know 
  nothing 
  as 
  to 
  

   the 
  vegetation 
  of 
  Lower 
  Carboniferous 
  times. 
  In 
  Africa 
  and 
  South 
  

   America 
  there 
  was 
  not 
  so 
  complete 
  a 
  break 
  between 
  the 
  Lower 
  

   Carboniferous 
  and 
  Permo-Carboniferous 
  floras. 
  We 
  know 
  that 
  

   typical 
  Coal-Measure 
  species 
  existed 
  in 
  the 
  Zambesi 
  region 
  in 
  the 
  

   Upper 
  Carboniferous 
  period, 
  and 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  that 
  the 
  coal-beds 
  of 
  

   Tetemay 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  near 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  southerly 
  extension 
  of 
  the 
  

   northern 
  Coal-Measure 
  vegetation. 
  In 
  the 
  rocks 
  of 
  Yereeniging, 
  

   probably 
  somewhat 
  younger 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  Tete, 
  3 
  we 
  have 
  evidence 
  of 
  

   the 
  continuous 
  existence 
  and 
  probable 
  southerly 
  extension 
  of 
  at 
  least- 
  

   one 
  typical 
  Permo-Carboniferous 
  plant 
  of 
  the 
  Northern 
  Hemisphere, 
  

   namely, 
  Sigillaria 
  Brardi. 
  Similarly 
  in 
  South 
  America 
  there 
  was 
  

   the 
  same 
  southerly 
  extension 
  of 
  northern 
  forms. 
  On 
  the 
  whole, 
  the 
  

   simpler 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  facts 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  to 
  conclude 
  that 
  in 
  

   South 
  America 
  and 
  South 
  Africa 
  the 
  Glossopteris-fi.or& 
  contained 
  a 
  

   few 
  southern 
  offshoots 
  of 
  the 
  widely-spread 
  vegetation 
  which 
  covered 
  

   an 
  enormous 
  area 
  in 
  late 
  Carboniferous 
  and 
  early 
  Permian 
  times. 
  

   As 
  Blanford 
  and 
  Zeillerhave 
  suggested, 
  the 
  two 
  botanical 
  provinces 
  

  

  1 
  'Life 
  and 
  Letters 
  of 
  Charles 
  Darwin,' 
  vol. 
  iii. 
  p. 
  248 
  (London, 
  1887). 
  I 
  am 
  

   indebted 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Thiselton-Dyer 
  for 
  calling 
  my 
  attention 
  to 
  this 
  remark.' 
  

  

  2 
  Mem. 
  Geo!. 
  Surv. 
  N.S.Wales, 
  Palaeontology, 
  No. 
  3, 
  1890. 
  See 
  also 
  

   Szajnocha, 
  L., 
  'Ueber 
  einige 
  Carbone 
  Pflanzenreste 
  ans 
  der 
  Argentinischen 
  

   Eepublik,' 
  Sitzb. 
  k. 
  Akad. 
  Wiss. 
  Wien, 
  vol. 
  c. 
  pt. 
  i. 
  (1891) 
  p. 
  203. 
  

  

  3 
  Zeiller, 
  Ann. 
  Mines, 
  Mem. 
  ser. 
  8, 
  vol. 
  iv. 
  (1883) 
  p. 
  594. 
  

  

  Q.J.G.S. 
  No. 
  211. 
  2 
  a 
  

  

  