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20.—Rowleya trifurcata gen. et sp. nov., a Simple Petrified Vascular Plant from the Lower Coal Measures (Westphalian A) of Lancashire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

Albert G. Long
Albert G. Long
Affiliation:
Hancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Synopsis

Rowleya trifurcata gen. et sp. nov. is described from specimens discovered in coal-balls from the Union Mine of Burnley, Lancashire. It consists of slender cylindrical axes (0·3–1·4 mm diam.) branched at long intervals by anisotomous dichotomies. Often three closely consecutive dichotomies produce a lateral trifurcation in which one or both outer branches have been arrested in growth. These bear one or two pairs of vascularised tapering appendages interpreted as ‘leaves’. Main axes usually possess a tetrarch solid strand of primary xylem somewhat like certain branches of Stauropteris. Slightly smaller axes often have a triarch strand of primary xylem triangular in cross-section. Backwardly directed branches are occasionally borne above a trifurcation and opposite a pair of ‘leaves’.

Rowleya trifurcata is associated with Psalixochlaena cylindrica and Botryopteris hirsuta. Its closest affinities seem to be with Stauropteris and Psilotum.

Type
Research Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 69 , Issue 20 , 1976 , pp. 467 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1976

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References

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