XLVm] PITYITES 371 



terms suggested by Nathorst and mentioned below. Pityites is, 

 however, appropriate for such specimens as those represented in 

 figs. 772, 773 which show a direct connexion between cones and 

 fohage-shoots. 



Goeppert adopted Pinites for fossil wood in a wide sense, but 

 it has long been the custom to describe petrified wood agreeing 

 structurally with recent Pines and other members of the Abietineac 

 under Kraus's term Pityoxylon. Nathorst^, with a view to greater 

 convenience, proposed certain subgeneric names as qualifying 

 epithets indicating the nature of the fossils but not implying a 

 direct connexion with Pinus: he adopted the names Pityanthus 

 for male flowers suggesting alliance with those of some Abietineous 

 genus, Pityostrobus for cones, Pityolepis for cone-scales, Pityosper- 

 mum for seeds, Pityocladus for vegetative shoots, and Pityophyllum 

 for detached leaves. To these the name Pityosporiies^ has recently 

 been added. 



The generic or rather subgeneric term Pityophyllum is apt to 

 mislead the student if used in conjunction with Pinites : the 

 leaves so named, as Nathorst admits, are in many instances almost 

 certainly derived from plants which do not belong to the Abie- 

 tineac. Under Pityophyllum are included both needle-like leaves 

 which are probably Abietineous with others having a broader 

 lamina (fig. 776) and much more likely to be connected with such 

 genera as Cephalotaxus, Torreya, or Podocarpus. 



The term Pityosporites^ is proposed for microspores provided 

 with wings similar to those of Pinus and other members of the 

 Abietineae, though in this case also relationship with another 

 family, namely the Podocarpineae, is not excluded. These terms 

 whether used as subgeneric titles or as generic designations serve a 

 useful purpose for disjuncta membra, while the name Pityites is 

 employed for specimens of a more complete kind. The name 

 Abietites has often been used for vegetative shoots and cones* 

 which there is no adequate reason for assigning to a position 

 nearer to Abies than to other genera of the same family: it is 

 desirable to restrict the term to fossils which afiord evidence of 



1 Nathorst (97) p. 62; (99) p. 16. ' Seward (14) p. 23. ^ /jj^;. 



* E.g. Geinitz (80) p. 12; Fontaine in Ward (0.5) B. PI. Lxvm. figs. 14—17; 

 Thomas (11) PI. iv. fig. 16; PI. v. figs. 1, 2. 



24—2 



