SPHENOPHYLLEAE 105 



In the axis of the cone we find that the cortex, 

 so far as it is preserved, resembles that of a young 

 vegetative stem. The course of the vascular strands 

 supplying the bracts and sporangiophores has been, to 

 some extent, traced ; the bundles given off from the 

 central cylinder underwent much subdivision in passing 

 through the cortex, until they were equal in number 

 to the bracts in a verticil. The most interesting point 

 is, that each of these strands, immediately on entering 

 the verticil, divides into three branches, one of which 

 lies below the other two. The lower branch passes 

 through the coherent whorl and out into the free tip 

 of the bract to which it belongs ; the two upper 

 branches of the strand pass out into the pedicels of the 

 two sporangiophores corresponding to the bract in 

 question (see Fig. 41, A, sp). Thus we see that by 

 anatomy, as well as position, the sporangiophores are 

 shown to be appendages of the bract from which they 

 arise. 



The bracts themselves are of simple structure 

 (Figs. 42, 43) ; the epidermis contains stomata, similar 

 to those of some Ferns. The slender vascular bundle 

 extends right through the bract. 



The sporangiophores either separated from the 

 whorl of bracts as soon as the latter became free from 

 the axis, or remained adherent for some distance to 

 their upper surface ; the vascular strand in each 

 sporangiophore traversed the whole length of the 

 pedicel, increasing in thickness towards the top, and 

 eventually ending suddenly at the base of the 

 sporangium (see Fig. 43,/'; Fig. 44). In the upper 

 part of the pedicel, and especially where it bends over 



