•!
: n
i/i
.iii
matot l ieca Stange r i , were of the nature of cupules, such as we have found in
Lage nos toma Lomaxi and L. Sinclai r i , though the ovules or seeds which they
may have contained, had been lost before fossilization. (Compare Fig. 10).
The fructification of
the genus He t e r a n -
g in m, our knowledge
of which is principally
due to the researches
of W il l ia m s o n (AVi l -
LIAMSON 1873. AATl -
l ia m s o n and S c o t t
1895) still remains to
be discovered. The anatomical
structure, ho-
wevei-, leaves no doubt
that we have to do with
a near ally of Lyginodendron,
the chief difference
between the two
types consisting in the
fact that H e t e r a n gi u m
had a solid protostele,
the primary wood extending
Fig. 11. L a g e n o s t oma Jjoma.xi , the seed of L y g i n o d e n dron
o ld h a m i n m . Longitudinal section of a small seed'enclosed in
its cupnle, which loosely invests it on all sides. The cupnle bears
numerous capitate glands. The microiiyle and ])ollen-chamber are clearly
seen, as shown more in detail in Fig. 15. x about 15. From a plioto'-
grapli by Mr. L. A. Boomuî. W i i . l i a m s o n Colin 193]^ A.
to the centre, while in Lyginodend r o n , as we have seen, there was an extensive
pith. Interesting as this difference is, for it indicates the more primitive characte]-
of He t e r a ngi um, there are so many
points of agreement between the two
genera that we cannot doubt that
L l e t er a ng i um also will prove to have
been a seed-bearing plant. The foliage
of He t e r a n g ium Gr ievi i , from the
Lower Carboniferous, has been difinitely
correlated with the frond Sp henopt e r i s
el egans. and there is evidence that S.
Linki i , and S. d i s s e c t a were also
borne on H eterangium-stem s.
Taking the whole of the evidence
into account it appears to be clearly
established that the so - called genus
Sphe no p t e r i s embraced a heterogeneous
assemblage of plants, some of
its members belonging no doubt to the
Ferns, as indicated by fructifications
Fig. 12. Restoration of the seed of L y g i n o d
e n d r o n , from a model prepared by Air. FI. E.
H. Sm e d l e y . The seed is shown surrounded by
the open cupule, which is studded with capitate
glands. From Scott, 190o.
such as those of O l i g o c a r p i a and Coryn e p t e r i s , wddle others, and perhaps the
majority, were plants of a higher grade of organization, and were reproduced by seeds.
Fig. 13. Fig. 14.
Fig. 13. Capitate gland on the cupnle of L a g e n o s t oma Loma x i . x 70.
Fig. 14. Capitate gland on the petiole of L y g i n o d e n d r o n o l d h ami n m , for comparison
with Fig. 13. X 70.
Fig. 13 and 14. From photographs by Mr. L. A. B o o d l e .
There are, however, yet other types of “Fern-fronds” from the Carboniferous
rocks, which are turning out to have belonged to seed-bearing plants. At the close
rf
Fig. 15. Apex of the
seed of L y g i n o d e n d r o n
in median longitudinal section,
showing micropyle and
pollen - chamber, ot outer
layer of testa; r palisade-
cells; i. t. inner layer of
testa; n cavity between testa
and nucellus; o orifice of
pollen-chamber, p. c.\ c, c
central column in pollen-
chamber; pg pollenTgrains;
pi part of nucellus ; mg membrane
of megaspore or em-
bryo-sac. x about 50. From
Scott, 1905, after Oliver.
ITniversity College, London,
Colin, R. 1 .
of last year Mr. D a v id AVh i t e , the well-known American palaeobotanist, showed
that in a species of Aneimi t e s , A. fer t i l is, from a Lower Carboniferous horizon,
winged bodies, only to be interpreted as seeds, were borne on a frond bud little