Glossopteris (tongue-leaf). Lign. 23.—Leaves simple, sub-lanceolate, gradually contracting towards the base; midrib thick at the base, and vanishing towards the apex of the leaf; veins very fine, curved, oblique, frequently dichotomous, sometimes reticulated, or anastomosing at their base. The plants of this genus resemble the ferns with simple leaves. A few species only are known; of these, two are from the coal-shale, one from the Lias, and one from the oolite.
| Lign. 23. Glossopteris Phillipsii; nat. Oolite, Scarborough. | Lign. 24. Odontopteris Schlotheimii; nat. Coal-shale of Saxony. |
Odontopteris (tooth-leaf). [Lign. 24.]—Leaf bipinnate, the leaflets adhering to the rachis or stalk by their whole base, which is not contracted; the veins equal, simple, dichotomous, arising side by side from the base of the leaflet; no distinct midrib. In their general aspect these plants resemble some South American species of Osmunda. Five species only are known, all of which belong to the most ancient coal strata.
Anomopteris (anomalous fern—so named because the plants differ from all recent and fossil ferns). [Lign. 25.]—Leaves deeply pinnated; leaflets very long, entire, linear, traversed by a distinct midrib, equal throughout; secondary veins simple, perpendicular to the median vein, swollen at their free extremities, and not extending to the margin of the leaflet. But one species is known. These leaves are of great size, and doubtless belonged to some arborescent fern; in several examples the fructification is preserved. My collection contained a splendid specimen from near Strasburgh, presented by the late M. Voltz, which is now in the British Museum.[85]
[85] Petrifactions, p. 32.
Lign. 25. Anomopteris Mougeotii; nat.
New Red Sandstone; Sultz-les-Bains, near Strasburgh.
| Fig. | 1.— | Three leaflets of a very large frond. |
| 2.— | A portion magnified to show the fructification. |
FOSSIL FERNS. TŒNIOPTERIS.