The Flora of the Upper Portion of the Coal Measures of North Staffordshire

Abstract

The stratigraphy of the Coal Measures of North Staffordshire is, perhaps, better known than that of any other coalfield in this country. This is undoubtedly due to the detailed work carried out by pioneer workers such as Wheelton Hind, John Ward and Mr. J. T. Stobbs, and also to the fact that this coalfield offers remarkable facilities for the study of the various horizons in the Coal Measure sequence. The upper portion of the Middle Coal Measures and the lower part of the Upper Coal Measures, in particular, are (owing to the economic value of the pottery clays and the Black Band Ironstones) admirably exposed in quarries and excavations. These sections give an almost complete succession from the Ash Coal to the Keele Series. The present paper deals with the distribution of plants in the Coal Measures above the horizon of the Ash Coal. Most of the species here recorded were collected in the course of investigations chiefly concerned with the non-marine lamellibranchs in those measures, and undertaken while I was acting as research assistant to Prof. A. E. Trueman. A grant in aid of this work was received from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. I desire to acknowledge the assistance which has been given by all owners and officials of mines and marl pits in North Staffordshire. They not only allowed access to sections, but also gave facilities for collecting both above and below ground. As a result, the original records given in this paper refer to