t'ossiL Plants from Ginoin, W.A. 
20 1 
](). P08SIL PLANTS FROM GINGIN, W.A. 
l^Y A. H. Walkom, D.Sc. 
O'Ih' Australian Musoimi, Sydnoy.* 
(Platf's i.-n.) 
K(‘a<l I4tli Aj)i'il. 1042; publislicd 20th March. 1044. 
Abstract. 
Fossil ])lants described from (Jingin indicate a Jurassic Age for beds of 
clayey sandstone underlying the Cretaceous greensands. 'Plie collection in- 
(dudes specimens of leaves and sporangia rc'fem'd to Isoelites^ tVie first record 
of tins genus for Australia. 
'fh(' (^ollc(dion of fossil ])lants her(> described was forwardt'd to nn^ by 
Pioh'ssor K. de ('. (Jarke in 1037. Jt is n‘gr(‘tte<l that cinrmnstaiu^t's have 
so long delayed the c,om])letion of my investigations. 
The s])ecinu‘ns were obtained from brownish, fin(‘-graine<l, clay(‘y sand- 
stoiu's undtu-lying the (’retaceous gn'cnsands at Oingin, W.A., and tlu^ list 
of .s])ecies k'jids su]>port to Piofessor (Jarke’s statement, in a lettc'r, that he had 
“fairly good (‘videnee that the chalk and gr(H*nsand lie on an erod<‘d surfact* 
of th«^ plant bi*ds.*‘ 
'fh(‘ s])(‘ch‘S idi'iititied ari' : - 
Isoetites elegans, sp. uo\'. 
Clado'phlehis australis (Morris). 
77/ ?’a nfvld ia fa Ibragarensls Will ko m . 
'l'acnio})ti'ris spaUdata Mcdcdland. 
/dilophylluni jx’ctcH (.Philli])s). 
Hlatocladus plana { Fi'istnmntel). 
TIkw suggest a Jurassic age for tii(‘ beds in whicli they occur, and show 
clos(‘St similai'ities with th<‘ .Jurassic flora of th(^ Talbragar HimIs in N(‘w South 
VVal<‘s. 
Perhaps tlu> most interesting fi'ature is the presem^i* of numei‘oiis sj)eci- 
UK'iis T-eferi'c'd to Isoetites. Fossil repres(‘ntatives of this group ai’t^ few in 
number, and noiu‘ a})])ear to liave b('(‘n described from rocks of Jurassic agi*. 
so the sp<‘cies I. elegans inaA' b(‘ the earliest sp(‘cies yt‘t known, as w(*ll as bt'ing 
the first fossil s]K‘cies known fi’om Australia. genus Jsoetes has a wide 
rang(‘ at tlu^ pn‘S<‘nt day b\d only six s]>ecies ap])t‘ar to be re(U)?’ded from 
Australia (thr<‘<‘ from Tasmania, and one iwh from Qu('(‘nsla-nd. South Aus- 
tralia, and \\7'st(‘i'n Australia). 
Professor (Marke has sugg('st(‘d that tlu'se ]>lant-b(‘aring IkhIs at (lingin 
may b(‘ tlu' (continuation of ])lant beds at Hullsbrook, some 30 inih^s north of 
Perth. In 1031 1 examiiu‘d for him a collection of fragmentai-y jdant remains 
from tlu“ Hullsbrook IhmIs and determiiu‘d tin* following .sjk*cu‘s -CVodo- 
phlebis austmUs. ‘t rhyllopteris sj ThinnJeUlia sp., Taeniopteris elongata^ 
Nllsso}\ia sp., and Klatocladus cf. platut. This small {collection was not v(‘ry 
satisfactory foi‘ (Udi'i’inination of the age of the b('ds and at the time I suggest(‘d 
that possibly a Ja)W(m- Cndaceous age was indicated. As a whok* the Hulls- 
brook colU’ction do('s not show (^los(‘ aihnitu^s with that from Oingin, and may 
ro|)r(\s(‘nt a sonu'what Jiighei’ hori/.on. 
* Publishi'd by permission of the Trustei's of t he Austi-aiian Mus(Mim. 
