A New Sporiferous Spike. 23 



alternating whorls. In all 14 nodes, about 2*5 millimetres 

 apart, can be counted, which originally bore whorls of 

 sterile bracts, a few of which are present in situ in the 

 section {Fig. 1, a, b). The number of bracts in each whorl 

 cannot be made out with certainty, but it was probably 

 small, and perhaps did not exceed 6 or 8. This estimate is 

 based upon the appearance of the uppermost nodes, which 

 are cut so tangentially that the anterior bracts are seen in 

 transverse section (Fig. 1, d). 



Structure of The Axis. 



The axis of the spike has a nearly uniform diameter 

 of viy millimetres throughout, and is obviously made up 

 of a central cylinder (or stele) {Fig. /, s), surrounded by a 

 cortex {Fig. 1, e), but the structure of the parts is very 

 imperfectly shown. The stele, 0*5 millimetres in diameter, 

 is, in part at least, composed of elongated elements which 

 here and there bear faint traces of vascular markings. But 

 the whole cylinder is so black, and the state of preservation 

 such, as to preclude any decisive statement as to the nature 

 of these elements and as to whether the centre of the stele 

 was or was not parenchymatous. At the nodes which bear 

 the bracts the cylinder widens out a little, but the section 

 shows no such expansions opposite the sporangiophores, 

 perhaps because at these points the section is not radial to 

 these structures. Neither in the case of the bracts nor in 

 that of the sporangiophores, has any vascular connection 

 with the stele been met with, but this is no proof that such 

 did not originally exist, as it may be due to the divergence 

 of the section from the radial direction. 



The Cortex. 



The cortex, whose thickness is 0*33 millimetres, is 

 made up chiefly of large cells, elongated longitudinally. In 

 the hypodermal region, the cells have thick walls and appear 



