i 7 4 STUDIES IN FOSSIL BOTANY 



by comparison with the cones still in position. In 

 cases where the structure is preserved, additional and 



convincing evidence is afforded 

 by the anatomy of the axis of 

 the cone, which is quite similar 

 to that of a young vegetative 

 twig of Lepidodendron. 



As it is very rarely possible 

 to refer the fructifications to 

 the particular species of stem 

 to which they belonged, it is 

 convenient to retain a distinct 

 generic name for them. Most 

 Lepidodendroid cones are de- 

 scribed under the name of 

 Lepidostrobus, but, as we shall 

 see below, all the fructifications 

 of the group cannot be in- 

 cluded under a single genus. 

 For the present we will confine 

 ourselves to the characters of 

 the true Lepidostrobi. 



The cones of different 

 species vary greatly in their 



F.G 7 o. -L&*«Mm, HMer- dimensions the ] ength ran g in g 



tiantts, Binney. Compressed speci- ' o o o 



men of an almost perfect cone, approximately from about an 



with the matrix. The exterior L L 



surface is shown, except at the inch to about a foot. The 



base, where the axis, with some of 



the megasporangia, is exposed, form is usually cylindrical (Fig. 



§nat. size. After Binney. . , . r , , 



JO), but in some of the shorter 

 cones is more ovoid. The strobilus was either sessile or 

 stalked ; the former was no doubt the case if the fruit- 

 ing stem was ever of the Ulodendroid form, while the 



