THE ERIAN OR DEVONIAN FORESTS. 



81 



and their piths larger than in the true pines, and some 

 of the larger-leaved species must have had thick, stiff 

 branches. They are regarded as constituting a separate 

 family, intermediate between pines and cycads, and, be- 



Fig. 30. — Cordaites Roblii (Erian, New Brunswick), a, Group of young 

 leaves. Point of leaf, c, Base of leaf, d. Venation, magnified. 



ginning in the Middle Devonian, they terminate in the 

 Permian, where, however, some of the most gigantic spe- 

 cies occur. In so far as the form and structure of the 

 leaves, stems, and fruit are concerned, there is marvel- 

 lously little difference between the species found in the 



