376 Linnaan Society. 
June 15 — The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair. 
Read “ Some Account of an undescribed Fossil Fruit.” By K. 
Brown, Esq., D.C.L., V.P.L.S. &c. &c. 
This singularly beautiful and instructive fossil, which had for 
many years formed part of the collection of Baron Roget in Paris, 
was brought to London in 1843, and purchased jointly by the British 
Museum, the Marquis of Northampton and Mr. Brown. Nothing is 
known of its origin, but from its obvious analogy in structure and 
mineral condition with Lepidostrobus, Mr. Brown conjectures it to 
belong to the same geological formation. 
Jdie specimen is evidently the upper half of a strobilus very gra- 
dually tapering towards the top. As brought to England it was not 
quite two inches in length, but a transverse slice, probably of no 
great thickness, had been removed from it in Paris ; and the trans- 
verse diameter of the lower slices somewhat exceeded the length of 
the sj)ecimen. Its surface, which was evidently water- worn, is 
marked with closely approximated unequal- sided hexagons, which 
are the terminations of bractese, and become smaller and less distinct 
towards the top. 
From transverse and vertical sections it appears that the strobilus 
is formed of a central axis of small diameter, compared with the parts 
proceeding from it, which consist : 
1. Of bracteae, densely approximated and much-imbricated, having 
their lower halves at right angles to the axis, while the imbricating 
portion, of equal length with the lower and forming an obtuse angle 
with it, is gradually thickened upwards. These form the spokes 
and external rhomboidal arese seen in the transverse section. 
2. Of an equal number of oblong bodies, of a lighter colour and 
more transparent, each of which is adnate to and connected by cel- 
lular tissue with the upper surface of the corresponding bractea. 
These bodies are sections of sporangia, filled with innumerable mi- 
crosco])ic sporules, originally connected in threes, very rarely in 
fours, but ultimately separating. From this triple composition or 
union of sporules, which difters from the constantly quadruple 
union in tribes of existing plants, namely Ophioglossece and Lyco- 
podiacece, which from other points of structure may be supposed to 
be most nearly related to the fossil, Mr. Brown has named it 
Triplosporite . 
The structure of the axis, which is well-preserved, distinctly 
shows, in the arrangement of its vascular bundles, a j)reparation for 
the supply of an equal number of bracteee. These vascular fasciculi 
are nearly equidistant in a tissue of moderately elongated cells. 
'Lhe vessels are exclusively scalariform, very closely resembling those 
of the recent Ferns and Lycopodiacece, and among fossils, those of 
Psarolites, Lepidodendron and its su])posed fruit Lepidostrobus, as 
well as several other fossil genera, namely Sigillaria, Ulodendron and 
Diplo.vylon. 
Mr. Brown does not propose to enter fully into the question of 
the affinities of Triplosporite; but contents himself with remark- 
