On Occurring of Sporangia of Protolepidodendron Krejci and Its Significance

This paper deals with the characteristics and occurring state of the sporangia of Protolepidodendron and its significance. The authors discovered that the sporangia with a short sporangiophore spread out from the axis of the fertile branch. There is a distance from the base of sporophyllary leaves to the setting point of the sporangiophore. Some sporangia divideinto suspended and symmetrical sporangia at the tip of the sporangiophore. But the most of sporangia do not divide. According to the characteristics of the sporangia of Protolepidodendron Krejci, which can be distinguished from genera Barrandeina (Krejci) Stur and Longos-tachys Zhu, Hu et Feng. Protolepidodendron lixianense sp. nov. is also described in this paper.