Abstract
THIS is the first volume of a work on the flora of the amber-bearing formations of East Prussia, and is devoted exclusively to Coniferæ. The introduction contains a sketch of the geological history of the order, and among much that is of interest we find an estimate that the existing Coniferæ occupy an area of about 3,000,000 square miles (500,000 German). The described fossil species are now almost as numerous as the living (400 to 450), though a revision might reduce their number by one-half. The colossal dimensions of some of the living Coniferæ are familiar to most, but it is not generally known how nearly these are rivalled by fossil species. Examples are given, as of a stem of Cupressinoxylon ponderosum, broken at both ends and 200 feet long, and another 12 to 14 feet across; a stem of Araucarites, 25 feet in circumference, and a silicified stem from California, 33 feet round the butt.
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References
"Die Flora des Bernsteins." R. Goeppert and A. Menge, Naturforshenden Gesellschaft in Danzig. 4to, 1883.
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GARDNER, J. The Amber Flora 1 . Nature 28, 152–153 (1883). https://doi.org/10.1038/028152a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/028152a0