E. H. Sellards — Codonotheca. 89 



observed being a little over 1^"". When well preserved the 

 petiole shows a netlike structure made by strong longitudinal 

 striae and weaker cross lines, suggesting the structure occa- 

 sionally seen on the leaves of some Cordcdtes (tig. 16, PL YIII). 



Spores. — Much interest is attached to the presence of the 

 spores and the position in which they lie. In the best-pre- 

 served spechnens the spores lie over the segments from the 

 tip to the base, and seem to be confined to a more or less well- 

 marked depression occupying one-half or two-thirds the width 

 of the segment. In such spore-bearing segments as are crushed 

 laterally, at the side of the fossil, the spores are pushed to the 

 inner side, indicating that they were contained in sporangia or 

 chambers near the inner surface, and apparently were not, as 

 might otherwise have been thought possible, held loosely in a 

 central cavity of the segment after the manner of moss sporo- 

 gonia ; in the latter case the spores would appear along the 

 center line of the segment, liowever crushed. There is no 

 grouping of the spores or other indications of the location of 

 sporangia, which were doubtless more or less completely 

 immersed in the tissue. In order to contain even a few of 

 these large spores the sporangia would necessarily be of large 

 size and if external in position would probably have left defi- 

 nite impressions in the stone, as do the sporangia of most 

 other plants in these nodules. The spores seem to have been 

 scattered somewhat, owing probably to the disappearance of 

 the walls of the sporangia at maturity, so that in the fossil 

 they run together and entirely fill the depression in which they 

 lie» 



From the position of the spores, the sporangia appear to 

 have been located along the vascular bundles. Inasmuch as 

 they have not been seen, no attempt is made to represent them 

 in the restoration. The spores are large, elongate-elliptical, 0*29 

 to 0-31"^^ long and 0-18 to 0-20°^™ wide, they are brown in 

 color, somewhat fiexible, and section readily on the microtome."^ 

 The spore wall consists of an inner, compact layer, and an 

 outer much thicker layer which appears granular in microtome 

 sections seen nnder a high power. A slit is usually present in 

 the side of the spore, apparently indicating bilateral division 

 from the spore mother-cell. The spores occasionally contain 

 small round grains with dark centers, doubtless representing a 

 part of the original food supply. In size and shape, the spores 

 rather closely resemble those of Dolerojphyllum^ except that 

 there is but a single slit in the side, instead of two furrows as 

 described for that genus. The spores (pollen grains) of Dol- 



* The spores may be imbedded by the ordiuary methods ; less time, how- 

 ever, is necessary for dehydrating, and the paraffin bath may be brought ta 

 any desired temperature. 



