134 ('. R, Wieldnd — American Fossil Oyoads. 



Museum. Even as illustrated by Professors Coulter and 

 Chamberlain in their new book on the Morphology of Cfym- 

 n08perm6, in only a single small text figure this specimen 

 shows something of its extraordinary characters. But on 

 inspecting the original, one can have but the single first 

 thought — that the fossil record can become rich indeed ! 



From the sections of the Moulder (Colorado) trunk Cycade- 

 oidea nigra, made some years ago, it was determined that a 

 peduncle was present in every leaf-base axil, but the fruits had 

 protruded beyond the zone of silicification. The general 

 resemblance of this form to the Italian Cycadeoidea Masseiana 

 was pointed out in my American Fossil Cycads ; and more 

 recently we have been enabled, through the interest of Capel- 

 lini, to cut sections from this Italian type proving that it 

 belongs to the series with fruits in every leaf-base axil, except 

 that these fruits are very young. So, too, it was pointed out 

 that in Cycadeoidea Stantoni axillary buds complement the 

 entire leaf-base series. But though it was thus observed that 

 in Italy, in the Black Hills, in California trunks of monocarpic 

 habit were characteristic members of the Cycadeoideae and 

 doubtless could be conserved with all their fruits, none of the 

 known localities gave much promise of yielding such an unique 

 and marvellous fossil. 



However only a casual examination of the Darton specimen 

 showed it to have small-sized but evidently quite mature seed 

 cones but little different from those of C. Wielandi, in the 

 axil of most leaf-bases far up towards the apex of the trunk, 

 and apparently occupying all of the lateral trunk surface that 

 ever would be available for the production of fruits. At least 

 no trunks are known with old peduncles in the basal region 

 and a clearly young series of fruits above, while the trunk C. 

 turrita, illustrated in American Fossil Cycads, Plate V, fig. 5, 

 with the regularity of its leaf-base spirals disturbed by but a 

 single ovulate cone was at once recalled. 



On plotting the lateral surface of the Hermosa specimen it 

 at once became evident that even the half trunk as collected 

 bears from 500 to 000 ovulate cones, thus exceeding all 

 records in fossil plants ; and on cutting sections from a portion 

 of the armor, which I was kindly permitted to break away for 

 examination, so far as bearing on my comparative studies, the 

 conclusion from the microscopic examination was fully con- 

 firmed. 



That the armor portion selected, though completely coated 

 over with lime, must contain concealed fruits was confidently 

 expected. None the less the surpassing beauty of the sections 

 obtained was scarcely anticipated. The first section cut, a 

 transverse one, showed the entire lateral surface to be occupied 



