11 
Here again the number of records, ignoring the new species, is very scanty, and 
the choice lies between Rhsetic and Lower Jurassic. On the whole I am inclined to 
assign these beds provisionally to the earlier formation, on account of the abundance 
of the genus Thinnfeldia, but this conclusion may well require revision should a better 
collection be some day forthcoming. 
Age. —Rhsetic (?). 
E. The Jurassic Flora of the Malvern Hills, Canterbury. 
Locality. —-The Malvern Hills lie some forty miles to the west of Christchurch, and 
contain the headwaters of the Selwyn and other rivers (see fig. 1). The sediments 
there developed were described by Hector(l) in 1871, and by Haast(2) in 1871 
and 1872. 
The Collections. —The specimens described here are in a collection specially made for 
this revision of the New Zealand Mesophytic floras by the kindness of Mr. R. Speight, 
F.G.S., who visited the Malvern Hills for this purpose. These were subsequently 
presented by Mr. Speight to the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge. I have also, through 
Mr. Speight’s good offices, had an opportunity of examining a collection from the same 
locality belonging to the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. 
Previous Records. —Haast(3) has recorded Pecopteris sp., Tceniopteris sp., and Campto- 
pteris sp. from this locality. 
Previous Opinions as to the Age of the Beds. —Haast in 1871 said the “ lowest 
visible beds consist of conglomerates, coarse sandstones, and shales, with Pecopteris, 
Tceniopteris, and other remains of plants, which, according to Professor McCoy, are 
identical with those obtained in the coalfields of New South Wales, and are probably 
of Carboniferous age ”(4). In 1872 Haast(5) also inclined to a Palaeozoic attribution. 
Conclusions as to the Age of the Beds. —The flora of the Malvern Hills is a small 
one, consisting of the following species : 
f 
Fern-like Plants— 
Linguifolium Lillieanum Arber. 
Cladophlebis australis (Morr.). 
C. denticidata (Brongn.). 
Tceniopteris Daintreei McCoy. 
Coniopteris hymenophylloides (Brongn.). 
Sphenopteris sp. 
CoNIFERALES- 
Elatocladus conferta (0. & M.). 
There is little doubt that the age is either Rhsetic or Lower Jurassic. On the 
whole, I should be inclined to refer this flora to the latter period. Several of the 
above species, such as Tceniopteris Daintreei McCoy, the two species of Cladophlebis, 
and Elatocladus conferta, appear to occur both in Rhsetic and Jurassic rocks in New 
Zealand. Linguifolium appears to be rare in the Malvern Hills beds. It only occurs 
abundantly in one other locality in New Zealand—Mount Potts—-here referred to the 
Rhsetic, though from Australia and Europe it is known in Jurassic sediments. 
(1) Hector (1871). 
(2) Haast (1871), p. 135 ; (1872 1 ), P- 1- 
(3) Haast (1871), p. 136; (1872 1 ), PP- 6-7. 
(4) Haast (1871), p. 136. 
(5) Haast (1872 1 2 3 ), P- 6. 
