. The geological history of plants. Paleobotany; 1888. THE CARBONITKROCS FLORA. 125 and complicated stems belonged to higher and nobler types of mare's-tails than those of the modern world, and tiiat their fructification wixs equisetaceoos and of the form known as CkilanMstackys. We have already seen that noble tree-ferns existed in the Erian jteriod, and these were continued, and their number and Tariety greatly extended, in the Carbonifer- ous, In regard to the structure of their stems, and the method of supporting these by aSrial roots, the tree-ferns of all ages ha^e been nearly alike, and
. The geological history of plants. Paleobotany; 1888. THE CARBONITKROCS FLORA. 125 and complicated stems belonged to higher and nobler types of mare's-tails than those of the modern world, and tiiat their fructification wixs equisetaceoos and of the form known as CkilanMstackys. We have already seen that noble tree-ferns existed in the Erian jteriod, and these were continued, and their number and Tariety greatly extended, in the Carbonifer- ous, In regard to the structure of their stems, and the method of supporting these by aSrial roots, the tree-ferns of all ages ha^e been nearly alike, and the form and structure of the leases, except in some oomparataTely rare and exceptional type^ has also been much the same. Any ordinsury observer e3amining a collection of coal- fbrmation f^ns recognises at once their kinship to the &militff brackens of our own time. Their fructification is, unfortunately, rarely preserved, so that we are not able, in the case of many species, to speak confidently of. Fio. 50.—Stams of OiilimoJfmdnH and tissnes nu^iufied (Nov* Sootia'). €, i, C>st3 of uds in smdstoDe, 'nith woo4f euTelopa (reduced), c, i, Woodt; ti^ua (higUy magnified). their affinities with modern forms; but the knowledge of this subject has been constantly extending, and a suffi- cient amount of information has been obtained to enable us to say ^mething as to their probable relationships. (Kgs. 51 to 55.) The families into which modern ferns are diyided are, it mnst be confessed, somewhat artificial, and in the case. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Dawson, John William, Sir, 1820-1899. New York, D. Appleton and Company
Size: 2244px × 1114px
Photo credit: © Central Historic Books / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthordawsonjo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookyear1888
