﻿338 THE SPOEANGIUM-LIKE ORGANS OP GLOSSOPTERIS. [Ma}' I905, 



Fig. 2. A group of several detached bodies arranged in a sorus-like manner. 

 Some of them appear to have dehisced ; those on the right hand 

 exhibit the outer surface, while those on the left exhibit the inner, of 

 which the cell-walls are much less conspicuous. X 30. Reg. No. 

 39,149. 



3. A typical group of detached sporangium-like organs, showing the 



shape of the sac-like bodies and the conspicuous cell-walls of the 

 outer layer. The neck -like extremity, probably the point of attach- 

 ment, is seen at a. The inner surface of a fragment of a sac which 

 has dehisced is shown at b. X 30. Eeg. No. V. 7202. 



4. Fragments of the sac-like organs of Glossopteris, showing the shape of 



the cells of the outer limiting-layer of the sac. X 30. V. 7211. 



5. A microsporangium of a recent Cycad, Stangeria paradoxa, Th. Moore, 



for comparison with the sporangium-like organs of Glossopteris. 

 X30. 



Discussion. 



Dr. D. H. Scott said that he thought that the Author had a good 

 case : he would not go beyond that. The sac-like form of the organs 

 appeared to dispose of the suspicion that they might be merely 

 concave ramenta. The fact that no spores had been found, though 

 unfortunate, was no argument against the sporangial nature of the 

 bodies ; even in well-preserved petrifactions, certain types of 

 sporangia were almost always found empty. Exannulate sporangia 

 were so common, that the absence of an annulus had no weight 

 whatever as a negative argument. He agreed with the Author as to 

 the worthlessness of the evidence formerly adduced for the presence 

 of sori on the ordinary fronds. He would like to ask the Author, 

 about on what proportion of the specimens of scale-fronds the 

 supposed sporangia had been found. He thought that the systematic 

 position of the genus was still quite an open question ; there was 

 nothing as yet, even assuming the correctness of the conclusions 

 suggested by the Author, either to prove or disprove that Glosso- 

 pteris was a true Fern. Analogies for the supposed position of 

 the sporangia on the scale-fronds might be found both among Ferns 

 and Cycads, although in either case the analogy was somewhat 

 remote. 



The Author thanked the Fellows for their kind reception of a 

 paper, which, he was afraid, was more of botanical than of geological 

 interest. Replying to a question raised by the previous speaker, the 

 Author pointed out that very few specimens of the scale-fronds of 

 Glossopteris Browniana existed in this country, but that, with 

 few exceptions, those which he had examined were associated 

 with detached groups of the sporangium-like organs. The Author 

 had pointed out that the characters of the sac- like bodies differed 

 from those of the sporangia of any family of the recent Ferns, 

 but he had not intended to imply that Glossopteris must necessarily 

 be removed from the class Filicales. He was quite prepared to 

 regard the question of the true affinities of this genus as an open 

 one at the present time. 



