ULODENDRON AND HALONIA 173 



strongly support this conclusion. He represents a 

 portion of a thick stem of Lepidophloios laricinus, bear- 

 ing four slender branches, on which are scales differing 

 entirely from the vegetative leaves. These branches 

 he regards, with great probability, as the peduncles of 

 cones. The specimen seems to be of the same nature 

 as the Halonial branches which are known to occur 

 in this species. It is fair, however, to mention that 

 Grand'Eury, in the same work, still inclined to regard 

 Halonia as a rhizome. 



From the whole of the facts, we may take it as very 

 probable, though more direct evidence is much needed, 

 that Halonia consists of the cone-bearing branches of 

 certain Lepidodendroid plants (especially Lepidophloios), 

 the tubercles representing the places where the cones 

 themselves were inserted. In these forms, then, the 

 cones would have been borne on relatively thick 

 branches, but this was not always the case in 

 Lepidodendreae, for there is no doubt that in many 

 species the cones occurred at the ends of slender 

 twigs, the ultimate ramifications of a much-branched 

 stem (see Fig. 53, B, p. 129). Considering the 

 serious doubts that now exist as to the nature of 

 Ulodendron, it must be admitted that the question of 

 Halonia also demands re-investigation. 



2. Lepidostrobus. — We now come to the considera- 

 tion of the actual fructifications. In a few instances, the 

 strobili have been found in connection with the branches 

 of Lepidodendron, as, for example, was the case in 

 L. Ophiurus (see Fig. 53, B). As a rule the specimens 

 are isolated, but their nature has been determined 



