CORDAITEAE 519 



known, such, for example, as fragments of petrified 

 wood, which present Coniferous characters, while 

 others, such as the impressions of large parallel-veined 

 leaves, suggest at first sight Monocotyledons of the 

 Yucca type. Associated with these remains, fossil 

 catkin-like inflorescences {Antholithus) have sometimes 

 been found, as well as a considerable variety of seeds, 

 of the bilateral type. The piecing together, on sure 

 evidence, of these remains, apparently so diverse, and 

 the revelation of their structure, was essentially the 

 work of the two French investigators, Grand'Eury and 

 Renault, 1 though valuable contributions from other 

 hands have not been wanting. 



1. External Cftaracters. — We may begin by stating 

 the general results of the reconstruction which has been 

 arrived at, and then go on to describe the organisation 

 of the various organs more in detail. The Cordaiteae 

 were tall, somewhat slender trees, with trunks rising 

 to a great height before branching, and bearing at the 

 top a dense crown, composed of branches of various 

 orders, on which simple leaves of large size were 

 produced in great abundance (Fig. 187). The stumps 

 of the trees, with the roots attached, have often been 

 found ; the root system is said to have been rather 

 feebly developed. The stems, in their present state, 

 attain a diameter of a couple of feet or more, which is 

 small in comparison with the height of the trees, for 

 Grand'Eury finds that in various specimens the shaft 

 alone (below the crown) reached a height of 10, 20, 



1 See especially Grand'Eury, Flore carbonifere du Dttpartement de la 

 Loire, 1877, and Renault, Structure comparie de quelques tiges de la flore 

 carbonifere, 1879. 



