to sea from uplands in larger numbers than 

 spores produced by plants growing in mar- 

 ginal coastal swamps. This interpretation 

 was suggested by Ghaloner (1958a, p. 261; 

 1959, p. 64) in referring to a study by Neves 

 (1958) in which Florinites was reported to 

 increase from 1 percent in a coal to 58.3 per- 

 cent in the marine strata of the Gastrioceras 

 subcrenatum Zone. 



Although minor constituents, Illinites and 

 Pityosporites are at their maximum abund- 

 ance in the Trivoli Gyclothem in Franklin 

 County in the sediments in which Florinites 

 abounds. In the Henshaw Formation the 

 occurrence of Pityosporites is more erratic. 



A large variety but relatively small number 

 of bisaccate pollen grains also was found most 

 often in shales in the upper parts of the cy- 

 clothems. Many of the pollen grains probably 

 were produced in upland areas by conifers 

 and other gymnospermic plants that were 

 going through major transitions in evolution 

 during late Pennsylvanian time to become 

 an important element of the Permian flora. 



Vesicas pora was found most abundantly in 

 the No. 8 Goal in Franklin County and the 

 coal of the Fithian Cyclothem. 



Laevigatosporites, Endosporites, Triqui- 

 trites, Raistrickia, Ahrensis pontes, Cirratrira- 

 dites, Reins chos pora, Reticulatisporites, Triv- 

 olites, Indospora, and other genera were er- 

 ratic in distribution. 



RELATION OF SPORE 

 RECOVERY TO LITHOLOGY 



No definite relation was noted between the 

 recovery and preservation of spores and the 

 lithology in which they were found. Of 61 

 samples macerated from at least six cyclo- 

 thems and four locations, 40 yielded spores 

 identifiable at least generically. Each of the 

 six coal samples yielded abundant, generally 

 well preserved spores. 



Spore preservation in underclay was vari- 

 able. Very well preserved spores were re- 

 covered from the top 6 inches of the under- 

 clay of the Fithian Gyclothem, the only out- 

 crop sampled in this study. Only six of the 

 thirteen other underclay samples contained 

 recognizable spores, some of which were badly 

 corroded. Collins (1959, p. 20) obtained 

 spores from the underclay of the Harlem 



Coal of West Virginia at only one outcrop, 

 which had been recently exposed along a 

 roadcut. He attributed the absence of spores 

 in three older outcrops to oxidation. How- 

 ever, lack of preservation or absence of spores 

 in the core samples used in this study cannot 

 be attributed to weathering. Several expla- 

 nations could be offered for their erratic dis- 

 tribution in underclay. Some spores and other 

 organic debris that were deposited in the coal 

 swamp on top of the underclay might have 

 penetrated into the soft clay through open- 

 ings left by decomposition of roots. Weight 

 of the overlying sediment also may have been 

 a contributing factor. Where spores are com- 

 pletely absent, deposition may have been so 

 rapid that relatively few spores were incor- 

 porated in the sediment. 



All but one (maceration 1122-L) of 23 

 shale samples yielded some identifiable spores. 

 Most residues of macerated shales below coals 

 contain a considerable quantity of large cu- 

 ticular and other plant fragments. Macera- 

 tion 11 22- A, a dark gray shale, yielded an 

 unusually large variety of very well preserved 

 spores and abundant plant fragments. Mac- 

 erations of shales above coals (probably most- 

 ly marine) generally yielded thin, fairly well 

 to poorly preserved spores and very fine plant 

 fragments. 



All the siltstones (macerations 1122-B, M, 

 U, and 1128-A) sampled from directly below 

 the underclay were barren of recognizable 

 plant microfossils. 



Only one sample from what is interpreted 

 as a channel fill deposit was macerated (mac- 

 eration 1122-Q) . The sandstone immediately 

 overlies the middle coal described from the 

 part of the Henshaw Formation studied and 

 contains pyrite, coal fragments, and carbona- 

 ceous laminae. The spores were well pre- 

 served and were not nearly so greatly com- 

 pressed as spores in all the other samples 

 studied. 



The limestones contained poorly preserved 

 spores and plant fragments or were barren 

 of spores. The four nodular, clayey lime- 

 stones occurring in underclay (macerations 

 1122-1, V, X, and 1128-D) were barren. 

 Spores found in three marine limestones 

 (macerations 1122-J, 1128-K, and 1175-0) 

 were abundant but greatly corroded and 

 fragmented. Two marine limestones (mac- 

 erations 1122-K and 1170-F) failed to yield 



