TRIGONOCARPUS LEEANUS,A NEW SPECIES FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

A new species of Trigonocarpus Brongniart is described from the level of the Herrin (No. 6) Coal (Carbondale Formation, Kewanee Group) at Carterville, Illinois. The seed is three dimensionally preserved by authigenic cementation and exhibits a well preserved nucellar cast, integument and micropylar region. The specimen represents the largest pteridosperm compression-impression seed collected in North America and measures 10 cm from the apex of the micropyle to the chalazal end, and at least 5 cm in breadth. Trigonocarpus leeanus sp. n. is compared to the remaining forty-three taxa within the genus, and specifically with Trigonocarpus grandis Lesquereux, the one species with dimensions approaching it. An emended diagnosis, with designation of a lectotype, is presented for Trigonocarpus grandis. Correlation of the features displayed by Trigonocarpus leeanus sp. n. and the petrified taxa within Pachytesta Brongniart is attempted.     

THE VEGETATIVE ANATOMY OF SCHOPFIASTRUM DECUSSATUM FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF THE ILLINOIS BASIN

Schopfiastrum decussatum, a monostelic pteridosperm, has been recovered from Middle Pennsylvanian age coal balls from six localities within the Illinois Basin. Additional features of stem anatomy include the presence of horizontal sclerotic plates in the inner cortex, secretory ducts in the inner and outer cortex, and adventitious roots. The primary xylem is interpreted as bilobed, emitting massive leaf traces in a distichous manner. Five orders of frond members are described, including pinnules. All orders of the frond contain secretory ducts and tissues characteristic of Schopfiastrum stems. The rectangular, bilobed protostele, and method of leaf trace origin indicate that Schopfiastrum is more closely related to certain lower Carboniferous seed ferns than to contemporary Pennsylvanian pteridosperms.     

FURTHER OCCURRENCES OF SPENCERITES FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF KANSAS AND ILLINOIS

New specimens of Spencerites moorei add knowledge of its sporophylls and method of sporangial attachment. The sporophyll consists of a slender pedicel which expands at its distal end into a fleshy, peltate, diamond-shaped head which bears a presumably fleshy lamina. The sporangium is attached through most of its length to the adaxial surface of the pedicel rather than distally as in S. insignis. It is suggested that the distal attachment shown in S. insignis may be derived through a phyletic shift from the pedicellate position. Additional specimens of Spencerites provisionally assigned to S. majusculus are also recorded. The spores are bilateral, monolete, and shaped like quadrants of a sphere. Two prominent wings extend along the two contact faces and the monolete mark is prominently raised, thus imparting a three-winged appearance to the spore. The axis consists of an exarch protostele and a cylinder of thick-walled outer cortex.     

ON A NEW STRUCTURALLY PRESERVED ARBORESCENT LYCOPSID FRUCTIFICATION FROM THE LOWER PENNSYLVANIAN OF NORTH AMERICA

Bisporangiate lycopsid fructifications are described from petrifaction material of Pottsville (lower Pennsylvanian) age collected in eastern Kentucky. The largest specimen of Lepidostrobus schopfii sp. n. is 8.0 cm long and approximately 1.3 cm in diam; it is not complete at either apex or base. Basal megasporangia, each containing a variable number (12-29) of megaspores, and apical microsporangia are adaxially positioned on pedicels bearing reduced lateral laminae. Features of the cone axis and pattern of vascularization are described. Of particular interest is the occurrence of well-preserved endosporic megagametophytes showing archegonia and rhizoids. The new species is compared with other structurally preserved bisporangiate lycopsid fructifications of equivalent age.     

IDANOTHEKION GEN. N., A SYNANGIATE POLLEN ORGAN WITH SACCATE POLLEN FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

Idanothekion glandulosum gen. et sp. n. is a synangiate pollen organ represented by approximately 30 specimens contained in coal balls from the middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois. Each synangium is composed of seven to nine elongate sporangia that are fused laterally for approximately four-fifths of their length, and are radially arranged about, and fused to, a short central column; the central column is restricted to the proximal one-third of the synangium. Distal to the column the sporangia surround a hollow central area. Dehiscence occurred by means of a longitudinal slit along the mid-line of the inner face of each sporangium. The outer walls of the sporangia have a complex histology involving an external epidermis, a middle presumably glandular layer containing scattered enlarged cells, and an inner layer made up of thin-walled parenchyma. Vascular tissue is present in the central column and outer walls of the sporangia. Each sporangium has a prominent, attenuate, multicellular tip. Large numbers of saccate pollen grains similar to those found in numerous fossil and extant coniferophytes as well as some Mesozoic pter-idosperms were produced in each sporangium. Idanolhekion resembles some synangia assignable to Paleozoic members of the Marattiales; however, the new genus compares most closely with pollen organs believed to have been produced by members of the Pteridospermales. It seems most likely that Idanothekion represents the pollen organ of some member of the Lyginopteridaceae that produced pollen of a type which up to now has not been known from Paleozoic seed ferns.     

PALEOZOIC SEED STUDIES: A NEW PENNSYLVANIAN PACHYTESTA FROM SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Pachytesta stewartii, a new species found in Middle Pennsylvanian coal ball deposits in southern Illinois, is 2.5 cm long and approximately 1.5 cm in width at its greatest diameter. Commissured ribs are pronounced near the apex and progressively less distinct toward the base. The integumentary system is delimited into 3 regions: outer sarcotesta, middle sclerotesta, and thin endotesta. Conspicuous in the new species is a pronounced basal extension with an enclosed chamber that may be the result of decomposition of thin-walled parenchyma cells. Relationships with other species and possible significance of the chalazal chamber are discussed.     

POROSTROBUS NATHORSTII SP. NOV.: A NEW SPECIES OF LYCOPSID CONE FROM THE EARLY PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

Thirty-one specimens of a small megasporangiate lycopsid cone referable to the genus Porostrobus Nathorst and abundant associated dispersed megaspores have been collected from Early Pennsylvanian strata in the Allied Stone Company quarry, Milan, Illinois. Based on other elements in the flora, the deposit is considered to be part of the Morrowan Caseyville Formation and probably of Namurian age. This is the first reported occurrence of Porostrobus in North America and the cones are recognized as a new species, P. nathorstii. The environment of deposition indicates that the cones may have been transported from the parent plant prior to preservation. Cones are preserved as coalified compressions measuring 15–36 mm long by 2.5–7 mm wide, and are characterized by an apical tuft of leaves up to 20 mm long. Sporophylls are spirally arranged on a narrow cone axis, lack a heel or keel, and have a long distal lamina. Sporangia contain a single functional megaspore tetrad. Mature megaspores are 750–1, 150 μm in diameter, have prominent trilete sutures raised to form a gula, and have numerous branched hairs confined to an equatorial band. Megaspores correspond to the dispersed form Setosisporites praetextus (Zerndt) Potonie and Kremp. Porostrobus nathorstii is the only species of the genus described to date that is monosporangiate.     

PALAEOSTACHYA DIRCEI N. SP., AN AUTHIGENICALLY CEMENTED EQUISETALEAN STROBILUS FROM THE MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Equisetalean strobili normally are encountered as disarticulated organs. This condition has necessitated the creation of 12 form genera to accommodate the various morphological architectures and anatomical configurations. Taxonomically useful characteristics, which are discernable in permineralized specimens, are rarely distinguishable in coalified compressions due to their destruction during diagenesis and coalification. Therefore, genera established on the position of sporangiophore-trace origin, such as Schimperia Remy and Remy, are untenable when dealing with coalified compressions. Although the two largest genera of strobili, Calamostachys Schimper and Palaeostachya Weiss, may be synonymous, it is proposed that these form genera be retained when dealing with coalified compression specimens. Each genus provides a particular architectural concept for specimens which may not be assignable to the species level. Calamostachys and Palaeostachya are highly overspeciated genera. It is suggested that characteristics necessary to delimit new species include bract height, degree of bract fusion, disposition of bracts, bract: sporangiophore ratio, number of sporangia per sporangiophore, and sexual status.     

ACAULANGIUM GEN. N., A FERTILE MARATTIALEAN FROM THE UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

Material described by Graham as Cyathotrachus bulbaceus is believed to represent a new genus that is a common constituent of Upper Pennsylvanian coal balls. The sessile synangia of Acaulangium gen. n. are borne in a row on either side of the pinnule midrib and are composed of four to six short, tapering, laterally appressed sporangia. The sporangia have extended tips which curve over the inside of the synangium distally and delimit a small open area inside the synangium. The outer facing walls of the sporangia are two to three cells thick throughout while the inner facing walls are uniseriate. During dehiscence the sporangia separate laterally and spore release results from the rupture of a row of elongate cells along the inner sporangium midline. Among species of Scolecopteris the new genus resembles S. illinoensis and S. minor var. parvifolia but differs in its sessile synangial attachment. The additional parenchyma present between sporangial cavities in the synangia of Acaulangium, and the tendency toward bilateral symmetry suggests an early stage in the evolution of a bivalve synangium such as is present in Marattia.     

AN ANATOMICALLY PRESERVED POTONIEA WITH IN SITU SPORES FROM THE PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

Specimens preserved in coal balls collected from the Herrin (No. 6) Coal in Illinois reveal the internal structure of the pteridosperm pollen organ long known as the compression fossil, Potoniea. Cylindrical sporangia are concentrically arranged in a campanulate body and the end of each sporangium projects freely from the distal face of the organ. Pollen is trilete and without a distal germinal aperture. The exine is structureless and has a separable, perine-like layer adorned with orbicules.     

LITOSTROMA,A NEW GENUS OF PROBLEMATICAL ALGAE FROM THE PENNSYLVANIAN OF OKLAHOMA

Mamay , Sergius H. (U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.) Litostroma, a new genus of problematical algae from the Pennsylvanian of Oklahoma. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(4): 283–292. Illus. 1959.—Litostroma oklahomense, gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of fossil plant material found in a Pennsylvanian marine limestone from the vicinity of McAlester, Oklahoma. Litostroma is a simple plant consisting of a small, irregularly shaped thallus 1 cell thick. Some thalli have small perforations and filament-like marginal outgrowths. The reproductive organs are not known. A marine fauna is intimately associated with Litostroma, and includes epiphytic Foraminifera preserved in actual growth positions on surfaces of the plants. The evidence indicates a marine habitat for Litostroma and, accordingly, algal affinity. Without information bearing on its reproductive organs or pigmentation, however, Litostroma cannot with assurance be assigned to any known group of algae. It possibly represents a group of green, brown, or even red algae.     

A NEW SPECIES OF ARTHROXYLON (CALAMITACEAE) FROM THE PENNSYLVANIAN OF KANSAS

Cridland , Arthur A. (Kansas U., Lawrence.) A new species of Arthroxylon (Calamitaceae) from the Pennsylvanian of Kansas. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(10): 709–712. Illus. 1959.—Arthroxylon resinaceum sp. nov. is described from 3 specimens found in a coal-ball collected at West Mineral, Kansas. The tracheids have 1 or 2 rows of pits on the radial walls and the pith cells adjacent to the protoxylem canals are filled with brown contents. Fungus spores are present in the tissues of 1 specimen.     

RHABDOXYLON AMERICANUM SP. N., A STRUCTURALLY SIMPLE FERN-LIKE PLANT FROM THE UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

A new species of the genus Rhabdoxylon Holden (1960), an anatomically simple plant of presumed fern or fern-like affinities, is described from a coal ball petrifaction found in the Upper Pennsylvanian of southern Illinois. The new species, R. americanum, is based upon five specimens consisting of stems bearing spirally arranged leaves and numerous randomly distributed adventitious roots. The haplostelic stems branch by equal dichotomies and bear foliar traces which arise as unequal dichotomies of the stele. Leaf traces possess a circular outline in cross section and one adaxial protoxylem strand. The characteristics of exclusively primary tissues, diarch adventitious roots, centrarch haplosteles with simple scalariform pitting, and the nature and arrangement of the leaf traces, suggest that Rhabdoxylon represents a fern or fern-like plant rather than a representative of the Rhyniophytina or Trimerophytina. At present it is not possible to determine whether the simple structure of Rhabdoxylon has come about through phyletic reduction or represents a primitively simple condition.     

AN OCCURRENCE OF CORDAITES IN THE UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN OF ILLINOIS

Cohen , Lila M., and Theodore Delevoryas . (Yale U., New Haven, Conn.) An occurrence of Cordaites in the upper Pennsylvanian of Illinois. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(7): 545–549. Illus. 1959.—Cordaites validus a new cordaitean species from Calhoun, Illinois, is described. It is characterized by one or more vertical series of large, barrel-shaped parenchyma cells in association with the primary xylem, a short transition zone of primary xylem elements, extremely shallow uniseriate rays and generally uniseriate pitting. This species represents the first North American Cordaites shown to be endarch throughout.     

PETRIFIED NEUROPTERID FOLIAGE FROM A MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN COAL BALL

Petrified specimens of pteridosperm foliage assignable to Reticulopteris muensteri (Eichwald) Gothan and Neuropteris rarinervis Bunbury were found in a Middle Pennsylvanian age coal ball from central Iowa. The presumed close affinity of these two foliage taxa is supported by various anatomical similarities including hydathode-like vein terminations and non-papillate lower epidermises with high stomatal density. Comparison of the foliar anatomy of these neuropterids to that of the xeromorphic taxa Alethopteris sullivanti (Lesquereux) Schimper and A. lesquereuxi Wagner show striking differences which suggest that these neuropterid and alethopterid taxa were adapted to markedly different habitats.