THE CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 



and the fruits, such as Trigonocarpum, Cardiocarpum, and Rhabdocarpum. 

 Among ferns this flora is specially rich in Sphenopteris and Hymenophyl- 

 lites, of which several new species will be found described in the palseon- 

 tological portion of this volume. Many well-known species found here 

 may be mentioned — Sphenopteris latifolia, Brong. ; 8. macilenta, L. and H. ; 

 S. obtusiloba, Brong. ; S. Gfravenhorstii, Brong. ; S. Dubuissonis, Brong. ; 

 S. artemisisefolia, Brong. ; S. Newberryi, Lesq., etc. Of Odontopteris the only 

 species I have seen in Ohio — with the exception of a new one that occurs 

 at a higher level — are found with the lower coal. Alethopteris is repre- 

 sented by a great number of individuals, the roof-shales in some places 

 being thickly matted with them, but the number of species is small. In 

 Ohio A. lonchitica, _ Brong., is found abundantly in connection with the 

 lower coal, and, so far as my observation has extended, nowhere else. 

 But in Indiana it occurs at a higher level ; and in Nova Scotia, according 

 to Dawson, it runs through the entire series. A. Serlii, Brong., I have 

 never seen in the flora of the lower coal, but it is found abundantly in 

 some localities over Coal No. 5. The Neuropterids are common in the 

 flora of the lower coal and comprise a number of species, such as Neurop- 

 teris cordata, Brong. ; N. hirsuta, Lesq. ; N. acufifolia, Brong. ; N. tenuifolia, 

 Sternb. ; N. Loshii, Brong. Neuropteris flexuosa , Sternb., so common with 

 the upper coals, I have never seen in the flora of Coal No. 1. Of Hymen- 

 ophyllites we have H. furcatus, Brong., H. spinosuj Goep., and several new 

 species. Of the genus Pecopteris very few species are found here, as it is 

 much more characteristic of the upper coal flora. Among the commonest 

 is Pecopteris plumosa, Brong., one of the most beautiful ferns of the coal 

 flora. As might have been anticipated from the abundance of Calamites 

 in the flora of Coal No. 1, Sphenophyllum, Asterophyllites, and Annularia 

 are found in abundance. Sphenophyllum erosum is common, but Sph. 

 Schlotheimii, Brong., so far as my observation extends, belongs to the 

 upper flora. The most common Annularia is a small one, which has been 

 considered identical with A. sphenophylloides, Ung., but it is quite dis- 

 tinct from the variety or species described as A. brevifolia by Brong., and 

 which does not occur below Coal No. 4. Perhaps the most peculiar and 

 striking plants of the flora of Coal No. 1 are Whittleseya elegans, Newb. ; 

 Antholithes priscus, Newb.; Neriopteris lanceolata, Newb.; Polysporia mirabilis, 

 Newb., and the species of Alethopteris and Odontopteris described in our 

 first volume. 



3d. The flora of the Middle and Upper Coal Measures. This begins 



with Coal No. 4, and is characterized by the great abundance of ferns, 



and especially of Pecopterids. Here wo first find Pecopteris arborescens, 



Brong. ; P. cyathia, Brong. ; P. arguta, Brong. ; P. oreopteridius, etc. Dictyop- 



12 



