35o STUDIES IN FOSSIL BOTANY 



structure, of which we may take the Botryopterideae 

 as the best-known examples. 



Space forbids us to extend our studies to the Ferns 

 of later epochs. It may be interesting, however, to 

 point out that during the Mesozoic period nearly all the 

 different groups of recent Ferns made their appearance. 



Among the Marattiaceae, the Palaeozoic genus 

 Asterotheca has been found to persist in the Triassic 

 and even Rhaetic beds. On the other hand, specimens 

 from the Rhaetic and the Lias have been referred to 

 the recent genera Marattia and Danaea. 



Gleicheniaceae have been identified as far back as 

 the Lias, and perhaps the Trias. 



One of the most curious features of the Fern- 

 vegetation throughout the Secondary period is the 

 prominence of the family Matonineae, now represented 

 by a single genus, with two species, Matonia pectinata 

 and M. sarmentosa, plants of limited distribution in 

 the Malayan region. This group, which combines the 

 characters of Cyatheaceae and Gleicheniaceae, can be 

 traced back, on evidence derived from the fructifications 

 as well as from foliar characters, at least as far as the 

 Rhaetic beds. 1 



Cyatheaceae can be identified as far back as the 

 Lias, aqd Schizaeaceae are found in the Jurassic. 



Osmundaceae have been recognised by their 

 fructifications in the Rhaetic and Trias, and fossils 

 from these rocks have even been referred to the recent 

 genera Osmunda and Todea. 



1 See Seward, "On the Structure and Affinities of Matonia pectinata, 

 with Notes on the Geological History of the Matonineae," Phil. Trans. 

 Roy. Soc. vol. 191, B, 1899. 



