132 C. W. PEACH 01S" SPHENOPTEEIS AFFTIQS 



Coal-measures of North America ; these had heen named Staphyh- 

 pteris Wortheni, S. asteroides, and S. sagittatus ; and are described 

 in vol. iv. of the ' Geological Survey of Illinois.' " 



" The fructification of Staphylopteris seems allied to that oiBotry- 

 chium or Aneimia. It consists of small rounded or elliptical sporangia 

 opening at the top, apparently by numerous valves. If the species 

 observed (by Mr. Peach) has not been described, it ought to bear the 

 name of the discoverer." The specific name had been previously 

 suggested by Mr. R. Etheridge, Jun., who pointed out another spe- 

 cies, named (also by Leo Lesquereux) Staphylopteris stellata, from 

 Arkansas. 



A short time ago I obtained access to a paper by Stur, " Die 

 Culm-Flora," published at Vienna, 1875, where, at plate xvii. 

 fig. 2, is the figure of what he calls the " Fruchtstand eines unbe- 

 kannten Fames." This " Fruchtstand" is much like some of 

 mine — in fact, I believe, identical. I shall allude to this again when 

 I describe my diagrams and specimens, and show how far it agrees 

 with or differs from them. 



Spjsejstoptekis affinis. 



I now enter upon the histor}^ of Sphenopteris ajjinis, and, as 1 go 

 on, will show the new points in its history that have occurred to me. 

 The first notice of this plant is in ' The Fossil Flora ' of Lindley and 

 Hutton, pi. xlv. The figure is that of a pinna, and gives a very poor 

 idea of the beauty of this elegant Fern when at all perfect. A better 

 representation of it is the restoration by the late Hugh Miller, given 

 as a frontispiece to his ' Testimony of the Rocks.' One thing is 

 Wanting to it : instead of the base of the stem being rounded only 

 and not thickened, it should bulge out like an onion, with delicate 

 rootlets from the underside. 



This form I have seen in several specimens of fossil Ferns, and in 

 a set of recent ones collected in Australia by Mr. Robert Grieve. 

 In following up my finds connected with Sphenopteris ajjinis, I met 

 with it in circinate vernation, and in this state got it from the 

 earliest stage to the completion of the frond (see PL VIII. figs. 6 & 7). 

 These specimens are in the British Museum. 



One thing more I felt anxious about was fruit. I had occasionally 

 seen what I considered such. This continued up to October 1876, 

 when I met with a small portion of a frond, well marked ; it was 

 lying amongst, but not attached to, masses of Staphylopteris (?). 1 still 

 wanted better examples ; and on again examining my stores I found 

 a noble one full of fruit, collected on the 8th of May 1874. The 

 splendid fructification on it had hitherto been overlooked by me ; 

 but it is so fine and good, that I now speak with confidence. The 

 spore-cases lie in rows ; and these run lengthways on the back of the 

 fronds between the strong rib-like veins, generally in single, occa- 

 sionally in double rows (PL VII. fig. 2). This state is very rare in 

 the Ferns of the Carboniferous formation. 



This Fern occurs in great variety, differing greatly ; and there is 

 no doubt that some of these varieties have been made new species of. 



