324 
Holden. — On the Anatomy of 
in the genus Firms the pits are usually opposite and distant, but Professor 
Groom 1 has recently described one species from India, P. Merkusii , where 
they are in groups of three or four, comparing this condition with that of 
Cordaites Newberryi. Here the variation is within the genus, but it may 
occur even within a single species ; e. g. some of the Abietineae which have 
stem pits of the normal Pinus type have them grouped in the root as they 
are in Groom’s stems. Were these woods discovered in the fossil state, and 
pitting used as the criterion for classification, the stem of Pinus Merkusii 
would inevitably be put with the root of Cedrus , and so on. Assuming that 
the pitting of these Palaeozoic Gymnosperms is of the same diagnostic value 
as that of living Conifers, it seems an unwarranted step to include these four 
specimens in the genus Callixylon , especially when their ages vary from 
Devonian to Permo-Carboniferous and their sources from America to India. 
Accordingly, it does not seem advisable to do more than refer this 
Indian stem to the genus Dadoxylon , with the specific name bengalense to 
denote its source, and the following diagnosis : 
Dadoxylon bengalense , sp. nov. Annual rings present. Pits of the 
radial walls of the tracheides very small (4 in diameter) and arranged in 
groups of 3-7. 
In conclusion, I wish to thank Professor Seward for an opportunity to 
study and describe these stems, and for many suggestions in regard to 
them. 
Literature cited. 
Arber, E. A. N. (1905) : Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of the Glossopteris Flora in the Department 
of Geology, British Museum (Natural History), London. 
Bailey, I. W. (1910) : Anatomical Characters in the Evolution of Pinus. American Naturalist, 
vol. xliv, May. 
Bertrand, C. E. (1889) : Les Poroxylons. Ann. d. 1. Soc. Beige d. Microscopie, Bruxelles. 
Boodle, L. A., and Worsdell, W. C. (1894) : On the Comparative Anatomy of the Casuarineae, 
with special reference to the Gnetaceae and Cupuliferae. Ann. of Bot., vol. viii. 
Elkins, M. G., and Wieland, G. R. (1914): Cordaitean Wood from the Indiana Black Shale. 
Am. Jour, of Science, vol. xxxviii, July. 
Gothan, W. (1905) : Zur Anatomie lebender und fossiler Gymnospermen-Holzer. Abh. K. 
Preuss. Geol. Landesanst. (N. F.), Heft 44, Berlin. 
Groom, P., and Rushton (1913) : East Indian Species of Pinus. Jour. Linn. Soc., vol. xli, p. 457. 
Halle, T. G. (1912) : On the Geological Structure and History of the Falkland Islands. Bull. 
Geol. Inst. Univ. Upsala, vol. xi, p. 115. 
Holden, R. (1913): Jurassic Coniferous Woods from Yorkshire. Ann. of Bot., vol. xxvii, p. 107. 
Jeffrey, E. C. (1905) : Comparative Anatomy and Phylogeny of the Coniferales. Pt. II. The 
Abietineae. Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. vi, p. 21. 
Maslen, A. J. (1911) : Structure of Mesoxylon Sutcliffi. Ann. of Bot., vol. xxv, p. 381. 
Penhallow, D. P. (1907) : North American Gymnosperms. Boston. 
1 Groom and Rushton (1913). 
