ON SPHENOPTERIS AFEINIS AND STAPHY10PTERIS PEACHII. 131 



11. On the Circinate Vernation, Fructification, and Yaeieties of 

 Sphenopteris afeinis, and on Staphylopteris (?) Peachii of 

 Etheridge and Baleottr, a Genus of Plants new to British 

 Mocks. By C. W. Peach, Esq., A.L.S. (Read May 9, 1877.) 



(Communicated by E. Etheridge, Esq., F.E.S., V.P.G.S.) 



[Plates VII. & VIIL] 



In May 1874 I found Sphenopteris affinis in the " Iblaes " used to 

 make a small railway for a new oil-shale pit at West Hermand, near 

 West Calder, in the county of Edinburgh. It was rather abundant ; 

 and with it was a small " flower-like plant " quite new to me. These 

 I exhibited on the 14th of that month to the Members of the Botanical 

 Society at Edinburgh, and gave a short notice of them, of which a 

 very brief abstract appeared in their 'Transactions/ vol. xii. p. 162, 

 1874. Feeling much interested in these finds, and desirous, if pos- 

 sible, to work out the new plants, I resolved to visit the place as 

 often as I possibly could, and was frequently very fortunate in 

 getting specimens of both plants. These were generally shown to 

 the Members of the Botanical Society at their Meetings. 



Last year I had found such good specimens that I wrote a short 

 notice ; this, with some drawings and specimens, I read before the 

 Natural-History Section of the British Association at their Meeting 

 at Glasgow, and, by request, to the Geological Section. Of the new 

 plant no one appeared to know any thing. A very short abstract of 

 my paper will appear in the forthcoming ' Transactions/ 



On my return from the Glasgow Meeting I again, in October, 

 visited West Calder ; and, from knowing the best spot for the fossili- 

 ferous " blaes/' I was most fortunate, indeed, in securing specimens, 

 far better than any I ever had before, both of Sphenopteris and Sta- 

 phylopteris (?), with so much that was new that I now venture to 

 submit it and the specimens to the notice of the Society through 

 my kind friend Mr. Robert Etheridge, Palaeontologist of the Geo- 

 logical Survey, Jermyn Street, London. Before proceeding further, 

 I think it right to mention what came of my showing the specimens 

 to the Botanical Society here. Mr. R. Etheridge, Jun., Acting Palae- 

 ontologist of the Geological Survey of Scotland, called my attention 

 to the Report of the Geological Survey of Illinois, in which certain 

 plants named Staphylopteris, found in the Carboniferous rocks of 

 Arkansas, are figured and described by Leo Lesquereux, and said he 

 thought mine might belong to that genus. 



Professor Balfour, at the June Meeting, 1874, as recorded in the 

 ' Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh/ vol. xii. p. 176, 

 stated " that the fossil plants exhibited by Mr. Peach " (at the May 

 Meeting) " seemed to belong to the genus of Eerns called by Presl 

 Staphylopteris. Species had been found in the Tertiary formations 

 of Europe. Leo Lesquereux had also detected specimens in the 



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