THE CRETACEOUS FLORA. 
49 
northern Carpathians, containing numerous vegetable remains. 
The plastic clays of La Louviere, in Hainaut (Belgium), referred 
to the gault, contain almost exclusively remains of coniferse and 
cycadeae, and thus their flora differs essentially from that of Aix- 
la-Chapelle, although it is not far distant, for the latter com- 
prises many dicotyledons but no cycad, and the species and even 
the genera of coniferse are different. According to M. Coemans, 
of all the cretaceous floras known at present, that of La Louviere 
presents the remarkable peculiarity of not containing any species 
common to the other floras of the same period. England, 
Saxony, Silesia, and Moravia, have yielded Cretaceous coniferae, 
but they have little or no relation with the Belgian species.* 
It is one example of an isolated flora of the period. Besides 
which the flora of Hainaut seems to afford a series of inter- 
mediate types with existing genera : thus Pinus Corneti (Coem.) 
connects Abies with Cedrus ; P. Andrdi , Strobus with Pinas- 
ter ; and P. Heeri forms a transition from Cembra to Strobus. 
The upper greensand and lower chalk corresponding to the 
Cenomanian and Turonian of France, and the lower quadersand- 
stein of Germany and Austria, contain many gymnosperms 
(coniferse) and dicotyledons, the latter group here for the first 
time appearing in any abundance : for the 'geological position 
of the Aix-la-Chapelle beds (hereafter noticed) is newer. 
Strata containing plants referred to the former age occur at 
Neustadt, in Austria ; Niederschona and Goppeln, in Saxony ; 
Hradek, Kutschlin, Laun, Perutz, Smolnitz, Trziblitz, in Bohe- 
mia ; Oppeln and Tienfenfurth, in Silesia ; and Moletein, in 
Moravia. Plant-bearing beds of the upper chalk or senonian 
and upper quadersandstein have been noticed at Blankenburg 
and Quedlinberg, in the Hartz ; at Halden and Sonderhorst, in 
W estphalia ; and it is probable that the Platten-kalk of West- 
phalia and the sandstone of Klin, near Moscow, containing 
Sequoia and other conifers, belong to this age. 
The most interesting locality for fossil Cretaceous plants at 
present known in Europe is undoubtedly that of Aix-la- 
Chapelle, where Dr. Debey has noticed more than 400 species, 
generally well preserved, belonging to all the great divisions of 
the vegetable kingdom, of which the Dicotyledonous angio- 
sperms are the most prominent feature of this old flora. 
The Aachenian sands of Aix-la-Chapelle belong, according 
to MM. Bosquet, Schimper, and Sir C. Lyell, to the upper chalk 
or senonian.f 
* “ Memoires de l’Academie rojale de Belgique,' ” tome xxxvi. 
t Bosquet, “Foss. Fauna en Flora, Starings Bodem van Nederland,” 
II de Deel. Schimper, “ Palseontologie Vegetale,” tome iii. p. 673. Lyell. 
“Elements of Geology,” 1874, p. 286. 
VOL. XV. — NO. LVIII. E 
