GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. 



a tabular view given in the introductory part, that, including those 

 described in other works, the number of fossil plants, already known, 

 from the Brown-coal of this one district amounts to 237 supposed 

 species. Of these, 94 have been found in other tertiary localities, 

 especially (Eningen,Il8ering in the Tyrol, Parschlug in Styria, Eadoboj 

 and other localities in Croatia ; 143 have as yet been detected no- 

 where but in the E/henish district. As regards the geological relations 

 of the localities above mentioned, (Eningen is well known to be 

 pliocene, and Parschlug is referred to the same age by M. xidolphe 

 Brongniart* ; while Badoboj is considered as of miocene age, and 

 M. Brongniart seems to place in this latter division the very forma- 

 tion t of Brown-coal of which we are here speaking. But the exact 

 geological age of these lignite-deposits seems often difficult to fix. 



The number of species above stated must be received with con- 

 siderable caution ; for, in more than one instance, Dr. Weber himself 

 expresses a suspicion that leaves which are described in the present 

 work imder two or three different specific names may in fact belong 

 to one and the same plant. Taking the species, however, as they 

 stand in this enumeration, we find that, among the 237, there are 

 5 Ferns, 3 Palms, 21 Coniferae, 15 species of Quercus, 13 Laurineae, 

 7 ]^roteaceae, 9 species of Acer, 7 of Juglans, and 18 Leguminosae. 



There are, moreover (described in the present work), 1 species of 

 Causarina, 2 of Betula, 1 Alnus, 1 Corylus, 1 Fagus, 6 species of 

 Carpinus, 4 of Ficus, 1 Liquidambar (found in many locahties of 

 tertiary age, on the European continent), 4 Poplars (2 admitted to 

 be very doubtful), 1 Lejptomeria, 2 Aristolochice, 1 Plumeria, 1 Mag- 

 nolia, 1 Nympha^^a, 3 Eucalypti, 1 Rosa ; and among the genera of 

 LeguminoscB which are supposed to be identified, are Templetonia, 

 Dalhergia, Hcematoocylon, Gleditschia, Cassia, Ceratonia, and Acacia ; 

 some of these being determined by the help of fruits as well as leaves. 



This certainly appears an anomalous assemblage of plants, and 

 difficult to reconcile with what is as yet known of botanical geo- 

 graphy. It is rather startling to find such numerous species of 

 Quercus — a genus entirely wanting in Australia — associated with such 

 eminently Australian forms as Casuarina, Leptomeria, Eucalyptus, 

 and Templetonia ; and genera characteristic of temperate climates, 

 like Betula, Corylus, Carpinus, and Populus, in comj)any with such 

 tropical forms as Plumeria, Dalhergia, and Hcematoocylon. Again, 

 of the supposed Proteacece described and figured in the present work, 

 one is referred to the genus Protea itself, the rest being considered 

 to belong to Banksia, Dryandra, and Hdkea. Now, in the present 

 creation, Protea is entirely confined to the continent of Africa, 

 while the three other genera above mentioned are altogether peculiar 

 to Australia:]:. 



In fact, as was long ago pointed out by Eobert Brown, the genera 

 of Proteacece are strictly limited in their geographical range, and 

 Lomatia appears to be almost the only instance in the order of a 

 genus common to two continents. Hence we are disposed to scru- 



* Tableau des Genres, p. 119. t Ibid, p. 117. 



\ Including Tasmania. 



