part 3] fossil plants from the Falkland islands. 31? 



Falkland Islands belongs to the Psilophytales, either to Hornea, 

 as you suggest, or to some other type.' 



Other Devonian specimens are described by Halle as 'unknown 

 plant-fragments. 1 These cannot be identified; but it is perhaps 

 worthy of remark that some obscure fossils, figured many years ago 

 by J. W. Salter as ' rootlets ',} from the Lower Old Eed^ Sandstone 

 of Caithness, bear a fairly close resemblance (in the presence of 

 more or less spherical bodies on some of the slender axes) to the 

 fragment shown in Dr. Halle's figs. 10 & 11, pi. vi. 



Summing up the slender evidence, we are disposed to consider 

 that the balance of probability is in favour of assigning the scanty 

 relics of the oldest vegetation of the Falkland Islands to a 

 Devonian flora, probably a Middle rather than an Upper Devonian 

 flora. Halle's ' indeterminable fragments ' and ' unknown plants ', 

 as we have shown, bear a definite resemblance to Middle and 

 Lower Devonian fossils of Europe, while the Lepidodendroid stem- 

 fragments have been compared with fossils from both Upper and 

 older Devonian rocks. 



It may, at least, be said that no satisfactory evidence has been 

 obtained of the occurrence in the Falkland Islands of a typical 

 Upper Devonian or Lower Carboniferous European flora. 



II. Pebmo-Caebonifeeous Specimens. 



Some rock-structures associated with specimens of plants from 

 North Arm, Bay of Harbours, are worthy of brief notice, because 

 of their superficial resemblance to bulbous steins. These nodular 

 or bulb-like bodies vary from 8 to 16 cm. in diameter, and are 

 strongly marked out by their brown colour from the greyish-green 

 rocks in which thev occur. The sides of the ' bulbs ' are smooth 

 and slickensided, and in some there is a flat, circular area in the 

 middle of the upper and of the lower surface. Their appearance 

 suggests comparison with pieces of steel punched out of a thick 

 plate. The rock would seem to have been subjected to some 

 force acting at right-angles to the surface of the bedding. There 

 is no evidence that plants or other organisms were concerned in 

 the production of these curious bodies. Similar slickensided pieces 

 of rock were described several years ago by H. B. Geinitz as fossil 

 seeds. 



Equisetaceous stems. 



The collection includes several specimens of Equisetaceous steins 

 and branches, but unfortunately no leaves or leaf-sheaths. 

 Imperfectly preserved, detached leaf-sheaths and small leaf- 

 bearing branches figured by Nathorst and by Halle demonstrate 

 the occurrence of the genus PlujUotlieca: they do not necessarily 

 prove that all the Equisetaceous stems belonged to that type. 

 In the absence of fairly well-preserved leaves it is impossible to 



1 Salter (58) pi. v, fig*. la & lb. 



