lepidodendra. 
61 
importance in former ages of the world is 
universally admitted, their precise rank 
amidst their sylvan brethren has not yet 
been fully determined. 
The club-mosses, supposed to be their 
modern allies are flowerless weak plants, 
with the habit of mosses, growing abun- 
dai;itly in the humid islands of the tropics 
to the height of two or three feet. It is 
difficult to conceive of these as the suc¬ 
cessors of the beautiful large ornamental 
trees of the coal measures figured as Lepi¬ 
dodendra. Professor Lindley regards these 
trees as constituting one of the lost links 
in the present vegetable kingdom, a race 
intermediate between the fir-tribe and the 
club-moss: probably flowerless palms. 
Their internal structure differs from that 
of all other plants, but possesses consider¬ 
able analogy with the well known consti¬ 
tution of the pine tribe. 
The fruits and forms of Lep idofe ndra are 
preserved in great delicacy and profusion 
in the Oolite shale of Gristhorpe Bay in 
Yorkshire. ^ 
F 
^ ^ tf _ _ 
/ ... 
