| SECOND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF PENNSYLVANIA - REPORT OF PROGRESS P. DESCRIPTION OF THE COAL FLORA OF PENNSYLVANIA AND OF THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES BY LEO LESQUEREUX; ©1879 |
Tables of Contents:
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All Four Volumes: Scans and Webpage ©George Langford III, 2011 |
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RHABDOCARPUS, Goepp. & Berger.
Seeds ovate or oblong, costatc or striate, acute or acuminatc surrounded by a putamen sometimes deficient.Prof. Brongniart remarks, Ann: d. Sci., 1.c., p. 13, that the Genus Rhabdocarpus is one already established by Goeppert from mere surface impressions and characterized by the presence of striae or, longitudinal furrows upon their outer testa; but that this character is very uncertain. According to the French author, the genus may be characterized by the remarkable texture of its testa, of which the internal layer (endotesta) is clearly limited and composed of a dense and compact cellular tissue, while the outside layer (sarcotesta) is remarkable by the presence in its cellular tissue of numerous solid fibres which pass obliquely from the base to the summit, constituting a carnose and fibrous envelope which is prolonged above the nucleus, as much towards the summit, as towards the base. In the interior of the endotesta one sees the chalaza, and opposite or to the upper end, the micropyle and also the erected micelle with its conical top, without appearance of any pollinic cavity. The nucelle seems united to the testa in its lower part, in the same manner as in some Conifers. The chalaza receives a central vascular fascile from which two others are derived and continuous outside of the carena in its whole length. Brongniart adds that two or three species of Rhabdocarpus have been observed in a silicified state, but that it is difficult to define their characters and to indicate their relation to the species already remarked in other localities. The last remark of Prof. Brongniart shows, as I have said already for species of Cardiocarpus, that the analyses of silicified specimens are of no advantage for the definition and determination of specimens flattened and preserved upon shale, or known only by impressions of their outside surface. It may be remarked also that we may recognize, from impressions of the specimens preserved in the coal shale, characters which have not been observed upon silicified specimens, as, for example, the pedicel of Rhabdocarpus Jacksonianus. Some of the fruits described here in this genus have a pericarp of apparently fibrous texture, smooth or without ribs, but, from what is seen of analogous forms, the inside or endotesta is evidently striate. A few, whose endotesta is not known, are, therefore, hypothetically referred to this genus. |
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Seeds large, broadly ovate,
apiculate, obscurely marked at base by a broad cicatrice point of
attachment, indistinctly striate by equidistant lines and irregularly
closely, deeply lineate or wrinkled lengthwise. This fine fruit with outside envelope finely preserved, is flattened to one and a half centimeters in thickness in the middle, convex or lenticular, with obtuse borders. It is nearly exactly oval, six centimeters broad in the middle, the top marked with a short acute point, or mucronate. Its surface is polished, though doubly striate as described above. Habitat—Pittston, Penn'a, Seneca mine, coal seam F, Mr. R. D. Lacoe. |
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Fruit large, oblong, curving a little to one side, rounded at base, narrowed at the apex to a short acumen, marked lengthwise with distant narrow elevated ribs, indistinctly minutely lineate in the intervals. We have here evidently the nucleus only. It is transformed into sandstone and preserved in its integrity or cylindrical in the middle. It is seven centimeters long, three and a half centimeters in diameter in the middle, where it is a little inclined on one side, rapidly, sharply acuminate, marked by eight distinct narrow ribs and irregularly striate lengthwise. The lines in the intervals of the ribs are not very distinct, apparently on account of the coarseness of the stone. This fruit may be a Trigonocarpus. Habitat—Sandstone beds south of Ohio, locality unknown. The specimen was presented to me years ago by Dr. Howard of Columbus, Ohio. |
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RHABDOCARPUS JACKSONIANUS, Lesqx., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 17-19.
Seeds ovate-oblong; upper
cortex obscurely ribbed, striate and fibrous; endotesta deeply cut
lengthwise into eight to ten elevated obtuse or sharply keeled ridges,
converging both at the upper rounded apex and at the truncate point of
attachment of the pedicel; nucleus oblong, slightly narrowed to the
emarginate apex.Carpolithes Jacksonensis, Lesqx., Geol. Rept. of Ill., II, p. 461, Pl. XLVI, f. 4. Carpolithes sulcatus? St. Fl. d. Vorw., II, p. 208, Pl. X. f. 2., (from a deteriorated specimen?) The specimens represent three distinct forms of the species, in different degrees of preservation. Atlas, fig. 18 is a seed with the outside envelope transformed by maceration into a coating of fibrous coaly matter, half to one millimeter thick. The endocarp is hard, smooth, deeply cut lengthwise in obtuse or sharply keeled ridges, eight to ten, connivent at the round top and at the truncate base or point of attachment of a pedicel. The nucleus, Atlas f. 17, is small, has the same shape as Atlas, f. 18, and its surface is covered also by fibrous coal. Atlas, f. 19 represents a small specimen with its endocarp. The ribs are less distinctly marked and less numerous than in other specimens, one of which, the best, is five and a half centimeters long nearly two and a half centimeters broad in the middle. I have seen a number of others which I consider all referable to the same species, though generally different in shape and size, and also in the numbers and width of the ribs, according to their state of preservation. They have been or may be easily ascribed to different species. Trignocarpus species, Newby, Geol. Rept. of Ohio, Paleont., I, Pl. XLII, f. 9, and Pl. XLIII, f. 15, which shows the ribbed endocarp, under the epicarp partly destroyed, seem to be referable to this species. An important specimen has been lately sent for examination by Mr. Lacoe, (No. 224a of his collection). The nucleus with its endocarp is loose or separated from the epicarp which is two millimeters thick, as seen by the flattened borders surrounding the concave ribbed impression. This seed is attached to a pedicel a little more than one centimeter long, five millimeters in diameter at its point of connection, decreasing to two millimeters at its broken end. The flattened margin or the epicarp is prolonged downward in narrowing gradually from the base of the seed to the point where the pedicel is broken. As the pedicel is ribbed and the outer testa quite flat and smooth, the relation of these different parts is quite distinct. The pedicel is not adherent to the nucleus which does not leave at its base an impression of its connection; it is clearly a part of the outer testa or sarcocarp, from which the nucleus is entirely free. By compression, the costae of these seeds are often separated at the top and diverging as if cut into large teeth, like the borders of sheaths of Equisetites figured Atlas, Plate III, f. 15 and 16. Habitat—Not rare. The first specimen described, Geol. Rept. of Ill., is from Murphysborough, Jackson county. Dr. Newberry's specimens are from the shale above coal of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with Whittleseya elegans. Numerous specimens of Mr. Lacoe are from Oliphant and Pittston, Pa., Port Griffith and Butler mines. |
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RHABDOCARPUS MULTISTRIATUS, Presl., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 22, 23.
Fruit oval-oblong, rounded at
basc; outer testa prolonged beyond the nucleus and narrowed
upward into an obtuse apex, obscurely ribbed and striatc lengthwise;
nucleus shorter, ovate, apiculate, distinctly equally ribbed, marked at
the base by a large cicatrice point of attachment.Carpolithes multistriatus, St., Fl. d. Vorw., II, p. 208, Pl. XXXIX, f. 1, 2. Lesqx., Geol. of Penn'a, 1858, p. 877; Geol. Rept. of Ill., p. 460, Pl. XLVI, 2. This species is obscure, and probably includes others described under different names. Sternberg's figures l.c. represent an oval fruit, exactly corresponding in shape and character, only slightly larger, with Atlas, f. 22. In St., f. 1, the point of the seed (turned down) is prolonged and broken; the acumen is marked also f. 2, but destroyed near its base. The number of ribs is the same, and they are also equal and distinctly obtuse on the back. The specimen figured in Geol. Rept. of Ill., l.c., is a longer and narrower fruit, which appears covered with the sarcotesta, as the striae are less distinctly marked. It is gradually narrowed to an obtuse apex as would be that in Atlas, f. 22, if the outer testa was preserved in its integrity. The size of the specimens representing this species is variable. The nucleus is from three to five centimeters long and two to three centimeters in diameter below the middle where the seeds are generally broader. It is remarkable that this species of Presl., is not mentioned by any author except Sternberg. It has a close affinity to Trigonocarpus Schultzianus, Goepp. & Berg., as figured by Fiedler, Foss., Fr. 2, Pl. XXVI, f. 26. Habitat—Not rare in the lower coal measures above the conglomerate; Shamokin, Penn'a; Pittston, Ontario colliery; Carbon hill shaft, etc. B. & C. veins; Cannelton, where it is abundant; Colchester, Ill., etc. |
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RHABDOCARPUS CARINATUS, Newby.
Nut ovoid in outline, rounded
below, somewhat acute above; surface marked by numerous longitudinal
rounded ribs which become effaced near each extremity; outer testa
thick apparently obscurely striate.Geol. of Ohio, Paleont, p. 376, Pl. XLIV, f. 3. Rhabdocarpus apiculatus, Newby, ibid, p. 377, Pl. XLIV, f. 6. Nothing seems to separate this species from the former but the greater thickness of its sarcotesta which appears obscurely striate on its surface. Rhabdocarpus apiculatus is evidently a decorticated specimen of the same fruit as supposed by the author. Habitat—Shale over coal; Summit, Mahoning county, Ohio. |
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RHABDOCARPUS ACUMINATUS, Newby.
Nut large, broadly ovate in
outline, rounded below, acute and long pointed above; surface nearly
smooth, showing faint traces of longitudinal ridges.Geol. Rept. of Ohio, Paleont., p. 378, Pl. XLIV, f. 7. Rhabdocarpus costatus, Newby, ibid., p. 378, Pl. XLIV, f. 8. The author supposes that this may be the same species as Rhabdocarpus costatus, with a better preserved epicarp. Both the fruits have the same size and the same characters. As in species of this genus, the outer testa is generally prolonged upward, and, therefore, longer acuminate than the endocarp. Habitat—Shale over coal No. 1, Youngstown, Ohio. |
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Nut ovoid in outline, rounded
below, with the ccntral point of the base slightly prominent,
constricted but obtuse above; sides equally archcd, smooth and
polished; section lenticular with acute edges. From the description, this species is related to Rhabdocarpus insignis, Lesqx., from which it differs especially by its ovate shape and small size. These nuts are evidently of the same kind as those described above by the author, even probably represent the same species of seeds preserved with their sarcotesta which is generally indistinctly ribbed lengthwise. I have from Indiana two specimens of this kind, ovate in outline, same form as Rhabdocarpus laevis, six centimeters long, four centimeters broad, obtuse at the upper end, one of them bearing at the top an enlarged border or inflated margin, reflexed or passing over the orifice of the seed like a crown. Habitat—Sub-conglomerate coal, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The specimen mentioned from Indiana is from an upper coal near New Harmony. It is quite flattened. |
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RHABDOCARPUS DANAI, Foster.
Nucleus oblong, compressed and
finely striate, the base obtuse, the apex sharp, terminating in a
point, bearing remains of an elevated line seen at the apex, and of a
depressed line extending from the base nearly one half the length of
the nut in the direction of the axis; nucleus, surrounded by a broad
corrugated margin in which are visible four or five folds parallel with
the margin of the nucleus.Ann. of Sci. of Clevel., 1, p. 129. Newby., Geol. Rep. of Ohio, Paleont., I, p. 376, Pl. XLIV, 4. This fine fruit appears to have a double or at least a very thick epicarp. It may be, however, that both the endocarp and the sarcocarp, softened by maceration, have been pressed obliquely when being partly detached from the nucleus, and that the borders, then, appear enlarged by juxtaposition of two or three ribs of the two outer layers. The figure shows, at the top of the nucleus, a nucelle narrowed up to the base of the micropyle. The author remarks that the specimen is badly fractured and gives but an imperfect idea of the entire fruit. Habitat—Shale over coal No. 3, Zanesville, Ohio, J. W. Foster ; Pittston, Penn'a, Mr. R. P. Lacoe. The specimen from Pittston is also compressed and obscure. |
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RHABDOCARPUS CLAVATUS ? (St.,) Gein., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 14, 20.
Seeds oval, rounded in the
lower part, narrowed below the broken or truncate apex; nucleus oval,
surrounded by abroad flattened margin which ascends to the top of the
tube of a distinct micropyle.Gein., Verst., p. 42, Pl. XXII, f. 12-14. Lesqx., Geol. Rept. of Ill., IV, p. 461, Pl. XXXI, f. 11. Schp., Falcone. veget., II, p. 218. Carpolithes clavatus and Carpolithes lagenarius, St., Fl. d. Vorw., 1, Pl. VII, f. 14 and 16. The two specimens figured represent the two species of Sternberg, 1.c., with some difference, however. Atlas, f. 14, comparable to Gein., l.c., f. 13 and 14, is from a specimen in nodules, cut longitudinally, exposing the nucleus transformed into pyrites. The borders are very large or double, composed of an endocarp and an exocarp apparently of the same texture, the line of division being obscure. Measured from the outside borders, the seed is seventeen millimeters broad in the middle. Atlas, f. 20 is a narrower seed, only one centimeter in diameter, with the nucleus more elongated, elliptical, eighteen millimeters long, only seven millimeters in diameter, bearing at the apex, a distinct micropylar tube. The margin, smooth, as well as the nucleus, is two millimeters broad, also apparently representing both an outer and an inner testa, as seen by a line of division on the left side, while on the other side the endocarp only is partly preserved and only half as broad. This form is more intimately related to Carpolithes lagenarius, St., from which it merely differs by a narrower more elongated body, and also by the longer and narrower micropylar tube. Habitat—Specimen, Atlas f. 14, is from the nodules of Mazon Creek. The other is from the Helena coal mines of Ala. |
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RHABDOCARPUS AMYGDALAEFORMIS, Goepp. & Berg., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 27, 28.
Fruit narrowly ovate, marked in
the middle by a distinct elevated line; nucleus acuminate; margin
broad, striate, of fibrous texture.Goepp. & Berg. De Fruct., p. 21, Pl. 1, f. 12, Gein., Verst., p. 42, Pl. XXII, f. 10, 11. Lesqx., Geol. of Penn'a, 1858, p. 877. Schp., Paleont. Veget., II, p. 217. Of the two specimens represented here, both exposing the nucleus and the testa, Atlas f. 27, is subcordate at base, while Atlas, f. 28, from a better preserved specimen, is abruptly narrowed at the base into a pedicel formed by the prolongation of the testa. Both agree with the figures of the authors, l.c. Geinitz represents the fruits smaller and narrower, but his f. 10, l.c., has the same characters as f. 27 of Atlas, except that in this last the borders are abruptly rounded at the apex of the nucleus, while they are continuous and acuminate in Geinitz. Atlas, f. 28, is from a specimen remarkably well preserved, exposing at its base a chalaza with a distinct medial line, ascending to the base of a micropyle, and the border of the endocarp distinctly limited. Habitat—Low coal strata of Trevorton, Penn'a. Macdonnough Co., Ill., coal No. 3, Prof. A. H. Worthen. Pittston, Penn'a, Mr. R. D. Lacoe. |
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RHABDOCARPUS LATEMARGINATUS, Schp., Plate LXXXV, Fig. 29.
Fruit large, oval, abruptly acuminate; borders broad, flat, continuous, and equal in width.Schp., Paleont. veget., II, p. 226. Carpolithes platimarginatus, Lesqx., Geol. Rept. of Ark., II, p. 312, Pl. IV, f. 6. The fruit is so much like that of f. 28, same plate, that if it cannot be considered a large form of the same species, it seems at least referable to the same generic division. The nucleus is three centimeters long, half as broad, traversed lengthwise by a distinct elevated line. The margin, three millimeters wide, is flat, smooth, as well as the nucleus. No details of organization are observable. There are only upon the surface some flakes of a thin coating of coaly matter, apparently remains of the inner face of the endotesta. Habitat—Male's coal bank, Arkansas. Sub-carboniferous. |
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Secd very small, oval, notched at one end, regularly minutely striate. The seed may be merely a nucleus separated from its testa. It is only four millimeters long, two and a half broad, notched at the base, as seen f. 8a, enlarged, and very regularly striate lengthwise. Its relation to this genus is uncertain. Habitat—Male's coal bank, Ark. |
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Fruit oval; nucleus marginate,
oval in outline, rounded at the base; outer testa prolonged at the top
into two thick horn-like acute appendages. I have for examination two specimens, one two and a half centimeters long, seventeen millimeters broad, including the borders which are of thick fibrous consistence, three to four millimeters thick; the nucleus is of the same size as that of Atlas, f. 15, which has the margin destroyed. In both, the nucleus transformed into pyrite is very rough. As the imbedding nodules are split in the middle, exposing the inner part of the fruit, these horn-like appendages may be mere fragments of the pericarp enlarged crown-like at the top, with the inside of the crown exposed by the splitting. Habitat—Nodules of Mazon Creek; specimens T, 29 and 30, of the Museum Comp. Zool., Cambridge, Mass. |
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RHABDOCARPUS ARCUATUS, Lesqx., Plate LXXXV, Fig. 52.
Fruit oblong, constricted in
the middle, rounded and narrowed at the base to a pedicel, and toward
the top to a prolonged acumen; outer testa thin, striate lengthwise;
nucleus obscurely vertically lineate, marked by rectangular dots along
the lines.Geol. Rept. of Ky., (D. D. Owen), IV, p. 434. Carpolithes rostellatus, (by erratum in Expl. of Plates.) This is a remarkable fruit without analogy to any other of the coal measures. Its form is that of a peanut, Arachis hypogea. It is five centimeters long, including the beaked acumen, one centimeter in diameter in the middle where it is a little strangled, inflated and rounded upwards and downwards, narrowed at the base into a pedicel one and a half millimeters thick, and one and a half centimeters long. It is somewhat scythe-shaped, and the acuminate apex is inclined to one side. The nucleus of the same species, as seen from a specimen found at Cannelton, has the same shape as Atlas, f. 52, less the pedicel and the acumen. It is narrowed into an obtuse or blunt apex, distinctly marked by sharp narrow longitudinal wrinkles, soon effaced downward; the lower part is smooth, and the base apparently broken or without a pedicel. Habitat—I found two specimens of this fruit in a bed of soft shale of the Lower Carboniferous Measures on Burnt branch of Canney, near West Liberty, Morgan county, Kentucky, with abundant remains of Lepidodendron and Eremopteris flexuosa. The specimen from Cannelton was communicated by Mr. I. F. Mansfield. |
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Fruits ovoid, compressed at the
base point of insertion, three or six costate, the ribs more distinct
and prominent toward the base, sometimes disappearing above; apex
pitted by a small round or triquetre mammillate cavity. These fruits of various size appear to be composed of a membranaceous or fibrous testa sometimes very thick, dehiscent in valves which are often found separated from the nucleus. When these seeds are six costate, three of the ribs are stronger than the others. These fruits have been referred sometimes to Palms, sometimes to Conifers or to Cycadeae. As the Palms appear at a later period in the flora, at the end of the Cretaceous, the attribution of Trigonocarpus is probably to the Cycadeae, to which the seeds have an affinity of characters. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS NOEGGERATHI, Brgt., Plate LXXXV, Fig.1.
Fruit ovate with an ovate-acuminate tricostate nucleus, apparently surrounded by a double or triple thick testa.Brgt., Prodr., p. 137. Ll. & Hutt., Foss. fl., III, Pl. CXCIII, B, 1-4; CCXXII, f. 4. Goepp. & Berg., De. fruct., p. 18, Pl. I, f. 1, 2. Lesqx., Geol. Rept. of Ill., IV, p..460, Pl. XXXI, f. 16. Schp., Paleont. veget., II, p. 214. This fruit is cut longitudinally in the middle by the splitting of a nodule of iron. The internal structure, as far as it is indicated by the different substances of the compound, is represented in the figure. The nut is five centimeters long, two and a half centimeters broad below the middle. The sarcotesta is four to six millimeters thick, of a compact smooth texture, without appearance of fibres. The endotesta, transformed into iron pyrites is variable in thickness, narrow on the borders, broader at the base and the top in Atlas, fig. 1b, where it crosses the inside broad testa, prolonged upward to Atlas, fig. 1c. This inside envelope is a texture of black fibrous hard substance, separated from the ovule by a thin line or wall. The nucleus placed in the middle of the fruit is rounded at the base, gradually tapering upward and prolonged into a thread-like style which passes through the endotesta. The details are not perfectly clear; the two inner envelopes may be only one, appearing double by a difference in the mineralization of the matter. But the sarcotesta and the small nucleus, only two centimeters long, six millimeters broad near its base, are quite distinct. The fruit, therefore, has, at least, a thick double testa, like the seeds described by Brongniart under the generic name of Diplotesta. It is not possible to say if this fruit is positively Trigonocarpus Noeggerathi, Brgt. In Ll. & Hutt., Pl. CXCIII, the figures represent nuts like the nucleus. They are of the same form but larger than in our specimen. The author remarks that he has published the same species, II, Pl. CXLII, C, and on the plate the longitudinal cross section of the fruit has the greatest analogy with that described above. In Goepp. & Berg., also, l.c. and in Fiedler, the species is represented by nuts quite as large. I have a number of specimens of the seeds exactly similar to those figured by this last author, Foss. fr., Pl. XXI, f. 2. They are locally abundant. Habitat—Mazon Creek, communicated by Mr. Jos. Even. Sandstone at the base of the coal measures in different localities of Ill. |
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TRIGNOCARPUS DAWESII, Ll. & Hutt., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 2, 3, 25.
Fruit broadly ovate or oblong, marked with three strong prominent ribs.Ll. & Hutt., Foss. fl., III, Pl. CCXXI. Schp., Paleont. veget., II, p.215. Carpolithes disjunctus ?, Lesq., Geol. of Penn'a, 1858, p. 877, Plate XVII, f.11. These fruits vary in length from four to five centimeters, and from two to two and an half in width. When covered with their sarcotesta, the ribs are scarcely seen ; they are quite distinct when deprived of it, as they are generally when embedded and transformed into sandstone. Atlas f. 25 represents a specimen flattened upon shale. It shows apparently one side between the ribs. But I have, from the same locality, a number of specimens free of the testa, whereupon the nut is smooth or without any ribs like the figure of Ll. & Hutt. There is a degree of uncertainty in the identification of the specimens which I refer to this species, for Trigonocarpus Noeggerathi is represented in Fiedler, Foss. fl., Pl. XXI, XXII and XXIII, f. 10, 11, exactly like f. 2, 3, of Atlas. To the species is probably referable the nut described as Carpolithes disjunctus, Lesqx., l.c., a nucleus half separated from its testa. Habitat—Base of the coal measures in conglomerate sandstone, Indiana. Shale above coal, Cannelton, Penn'a. |
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TRIGNOCARPUS BERTHOLLETIFORMIS, Foster.
Nut long, ovoid in outline,
rounded and obtuse at base, acute at summit; section trigonal, the
angles marked by ragged salient ridges.Ann. of Sci. of Clevel., p. 128. Newby., Geol. Rept. of Ohio, Paleont., I, p. 369, Pl. XL II, f. 12, 12a. The author remarks that it resembles the fruit of Bertholletia excelsa, the Brazilian nut. Habitat—Upper part of the Lower Coal Measures, Guernsey county, Ohio. |
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Nut oval, rounded at the base
and there marked by a large triangular slightly flattened impression;
ribs three, at equal distance, continuous and equally distinct to the
gradually narrowed apex. This fruit may be the same as the one described above. It differs merely by the ribs not at all prominent, though distinct, separated by two or three obtuse broad striae, and the sides unequal. The nut is four and a half centimeters long; two of the sides measure two and a half centimeters in diameter in the middle of the fruit, the other only sixteen millimeters. The difference may be the result of compression; the edges of the costae, also, may have been destroyed by maceration. The figure of Trigonocarpus Bertholletiformis shows the sides of the nut irregularly striate lengthwise, a character not mentioned in the description. Habitat—Sandstone (conglomerate) above the tunnel, Tennessee R. R., Prof. Jas. Safford. T. 1, of the collection of the Museum Comp. Zool., Cambridge, Mass. |
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Nut ovoid, or elliptical,
large; surface marked by six salient ridges running from base to
summit; space between the ridges smooth, and at the base of the nut
rising into prominent arches between the depressed base of the salient
ridges. This fine fruit is five and a half centimeters long, four and a half in diameter, broadly ovate, flat or subtruncate at base, more rapidly narrowed to the apex. From the figure, it appears covered by a thick sarcotesta. The six costae are irregularly striate or rough lengthwise, equidistant and of equal thickness. Habitat—Sandstone of the coal measures near Coshocton. Ohio. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS JUGLANS, Lesqx., Plate LXXXV, Fig. 4.
Fruit large, nearly globular, marked with three salient ribs; surface smooth, distantly and obscurely lined lengthwise.Lesqx., Geol. Rept. of Ill., II, p. 460, Pl. XLVI, f. 3. The top of the fruit is destroyed and the basilar part immersed into the stone, therefore the characters are not defined. The nut, four and a half centimeters long, three and a half broad, is a nucleus separated from its outer testa. Its surface is quite smooth, like that of a hard shell. It greatly resembles the former species, and may, perhaps, represent its nucleus. Habitat—Found in a black ferruginous shale, in connection with the coal of Murphysborough, Ill. I found also a specimen referable to this species in the shale over the coal of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. T. 11 of the collection of the Museum of Comp. Zool. of Cambridge. |
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Nut oval, oblong, marked at the
base with a large triangular impression mammillate in the center, the
angles being conterminous to three narrow distinct obtuse costa
converging to the top; surface hard, smooth, lineolate lengthwise. The specimen presented to me by Dr. Hildreth is remarkably fine. It is three and a half centimeters long, half as broad, covered with a shelly pericarp not thicker than half a millimeter. The species is far different from Trigonocarpus trilocularis, Newby., to which it is identified by this author. Habitat—Sandstone of the Lower Coal Measures; specimen T. 9, of the collection of the Museum of Comp. Zool., Cambridge. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS TRILOCULARIS, Hildreth.
Nut ovoid, sometimes nearly
spherical, marked with three salient ridges which pass from base to
summit; surface between the wings smooth.Amer. Journ. Sci., 1st Ser., v. XXXI, p. 29, f. 4. Newby., Geol. Rept. of Ohio, Paleont., I, p. 367, Pl. XLII, f. 1, 13, 13a; XLIII, f. 13. The author adds that the ridges are the remains of prominent wings which in a few rare instances are preserved, forming a long triangular point as in his Pl. XLII, f. 1. Within the shell is contained an ovoid nucleus with reticulate surface. Dr. Newberry's figures appear referable to two different species. Figure 1 represents an ovate acute nucleus with borders emerging from the base, enlarging upward and prolonged into a long slightly obtuse acumen as in Cardiocarpus elongatus, Atlas, Plate LXXXV, f. 41, much larger however. F. 13, 13a represent a large Trigonocarpus covered with a thick sarcotesta. It does not seem to have with f. 1 of Plate XLII a correlation of characters. I have compared with Dr. Hildreth his specimens of Trigonocarpus trilocularis, with the one presented to me and it has been recognized by himself as of a truly different species. In Trigonocarpus Hildreti, the nut is larger, oblong or subcylindrical rounded and narrowed to the acumen; the surface lineate. Habitat—Conglomerate and Lower Coal Measures, Summit, Ohio. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS PARKINSONI, Brgt.
Nut ovate, tricostate, lanccolate-acuminate; basilar impression large, triangular.Prods.. p. 137. Parkins., Organ. Rem., 1, Pl. VII, f. 6-8. Schp., Paleont. Veget., II, p. 214. Trigonocarpus subcylindricus, Lesqx., Atlas, Plate LXXXV, f. 9, 10. The species is represented in numerous specimens slightly variable in size from two and one half to three centimeters long and generally one centimeter broad. The European specimens merely shorter, two centimeters, have the same character. Geinitz identifies the species with Trigonocarpus Noeggerathi which, however, from its representation in Goeppert & Berger and also Fiedler, is far different. From the specimens obtained at Cannelton, it is most probable that the form figured Atlas, l.c. as Trigonocarpus subcylindricus is a mere variety with longer subcylindrical nuts. Habitat—Shale above the tunnel, Tennessee R.R., communicated by Prof. Jas. Safford; specimen. T. 8., of the collection of the Museum Comp. Zool., Cambridge. Also found at Cannelton by Mr. I. F. Mansfield. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS OLIVAEFORMIS, Ll. & Hutt., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 7-8a.
Nut ovate-acuminate, round or truncate at base, trigonal; testa thick.Ll. & Hutt., Foss. II., III, Pl. CCXXII, f. 1, 3. Schp., Paleont., Veget., II; p. 215. In his description, the author says that this species has only three angles instead of six and is more ovate, but that otherwise it is much like Trigonocarpus Noeggerathi. Of the two specimens which I refer to this species, one shows a smooth side, the costa being covered by the thick testa; the other is a truncate nucleus which, from the impression of the truncate base, as well as the lines on the surface of the nut, indicates six instead of three costae. Habitat—A large number of these specimens all referable to one species, some with three, others with six ribs sometimes obliterated, were communicated by Mr. J. Collet from the sandstone of Eugene, Ind. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS MENZELIANUS ? Goepp. & Berg., Plate LXXXV, Fig. 11.
Nut round-ovate, distinctly apiculate, tricostate; surface rough not striate.Goepp. & Berg., d. Fr., p. 19, Pl. I, f. 5-7. Gein., Verst., p. 43, Pl. XXII, f. 21. Schp., Paleont. Veget., II, p. 216. The fruit resembles in shape Gein., f. 21, l.c. But, in the figure and description of the author, the fruit is rugose, striate lengthwise and the costa obsolete. The nut described here is merely rough, not striate lengthwise and has a distinct medial rib indicating its tricostate character. It is thus doubtful if the reference is correct. The fruit, with a narrow border, is two centimeters long one and a half broad, below the middle, where it is the largest. It is gradually narrowed into a short acumen. Habitat—The only specimen I have seen was found at Massillon, Ohio. It is T. 14 of the collection of the Museum Comp. Zool., Cambridge. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS TRICUSPIDATUS, Newby.
Nut elliptical in outline,
rounded below, narrowed above into a neck-like prolongation expanded
into a three winged area, three costate; nucleus oval, prolonged into a
short cylindrical column, crenulate-wrinkled lengthwise.Ann. of Sci. of Clevel., p. 269, f. 3. Geol. Rept. of Ohio, Paleont., I, p. 368, Pl. XLII, f. 2-6. The costae of the fruit pass down from the three points of the crowning umbrella-like expansions, and become effaced near the base. The author remarks that as it was probably the case with other species of Trigonocarpus this one was surrounded by a drupaceous envelope covered with a leathery rind; two fragments, base of this epicarp are figured. The nut is, in its whole, three and a half centimeters long, one and a half broad. The bottle shaped nucleus is two and a half centimeters long and one broad. It is a fine species, beautifully represented. Habitat—Roof shale of coal No. 1, Talmadge, Ohio. |
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TRIGONOCARPUS ORNATUS, Newby., Plate LXXXV, Figs. 12, 13.
Nut elliptical in outline, six
costate, constricted above into a neck which is expanded into a
stellate six rayed cupped area at the summit.Newby., Geol. Rept. of Ohio. Paleont., I, p. 368, Pl. XLII, f. 7, 7a. The six sharp keeled ridges descend from the rays to near the base of the nut, where they become obsolete; three of them are more prominent and prolonged to the base. This fruit is fusiform or bottle shaped like that of the former species, shorter and narrower. As the author remarks, the fusiform outline of this elegant little nut, its stellate summit, and the six sharp and prominent keels, will enable any one to distinguish it at a glance from any other described species. Habitat—Sub-conglomerate, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. |
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Nut of small size, rounded
below, subcylindrical to the middle, there truncate or broken; surface
marked by about twenty longitudinal ridges, three of them more
prominent. The fruit is a fragment from the middle to the base, about of the same size as the former, nearly cylindrical or somewhat contracted below the truncate broken apex. The cross section shows the continuity of the costae to the center of the fruit which is thus divided star-like in as many sections like parietal placentae. This character refers the species to the genus Polypterospermum, Brgt., Ann. d. S. nat., p. 22, Pl. XXIII, f. 1. Habitat—Same as the former. |
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Nut globular, cut at the apex
by a deep triangular orifice, indistinctly tricostate, striate by
numerous deeply carinate furrows; epicarp very thick with a rough
surface. The nut with its outside testa is nearly three centimeters in transverse diameter, two and a half centimeters from base to top. The epicarp is seen, from its partly decayed state, as composed of thin very hard parallel lamelles, directed from the triangular apex to the compressed base, scarcely half a millimeter thick, sharply edged at their borders, more than two millimeters high, in the middle of the nut and about as distant, the space between them being filled with a hard compact brown matter. In the small patches where the outer testa is preserved whole, the narrow ridges are entirely covered and the surface is rough, slightly striate. Under the epicarp, the endotesta, which appears like a hard shell, is merely marked by obtuse lines, base of the ridges composing the outer envelope. The base of the nut is impressed by three round scars corresponding to the base of the three costae and passing up to the angles of the orifice of the summit. The costae are not distinct upon the epicarp but only observable, slightly prominent and obtuse, when the fruit is deprived of it, or decayed in part. Habitat--Lower coal measures, near Alta, Peoria county, Ill.; found and communicated by Mr. Wm. Gifford. |
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described in Geol. of Penn'a, 1858, p. 877, should be omitted as uncertain, on account of the too imperfect state of the only American specimen referred to this species. |
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