Cordaites Felicis, sp. nov., a Cordaitean Leaf from 
the Lower Coal Measures of England. 
BY 
MARGARET BENSON, D.Sc., F.L.S. 
Royal Holloway College , University of London. 
With Plate XXII and one Figure in the Text. 
Contents. 
PAGE 
Introduction 201 
General Account of the Leaf 202 
Comparison of the New Specimens with C. Wedekindi, C. loculosus, and 
C. robustus, Felix 205 
Comparison of C. Felicis with Renault’s Species, C. ‘ principalis \ etc. . . 206 
Diagnosis of Cordaites Felicis, sp. nov 206 
Introduction. 
I T is not uncommon to meet with Cordaitean leaves in the petrified 
material from British Coal Measures. As a rule, however, the frag- 
ments are badly preserved, and beyond the fact that some of them bore 
a general resemblance to Cordaites W edekindi, Felix , 1 little has been 
observed about them. 
In two blocks recently presented to me by Mr. Sutcliffe from his 
mine at Shore, Littleborough, specimens have been met with which are 
better preserved, and were therefore photographed. A few of these photo- 
graphs have been reproduced on PI. XXII, and a camera drawing of a 
single bundle is reproduced as a text-figure. 
Although these new specimens bear a somewhat close resemblance, 
as above said, to C. Wedekindi , other sections more closely resemble the 
other two forms described by Prof. Felix under the names of C. loculosus 
and C. robustus. For this reason, and because a closer comparison revealed 
constant minor differences from all three forms, it has seemed necessary to 
refer to the new specimens under a different specific name. 
The name Cordaites Felicis has been selected because of the much 
closer affinity they show to Prof. Felix’s forms than to any of the French 
forms. 
1 Felix: Steinkohlen-Pflanzen. Preuss. Geol. Special-Karte (Abhandlungen), Bd. vii, 1885-7 
[Annals of Botany, Vol, XXVI. No. Cl. January, 1919.] 
