ONTHEVEGETABLETISSUESANDFLORAINTHECHINESECOALANDTHEIRGEOLOGICALSIGNIFICANCE

1.Altogetheraboutonehundredspecimensofcoalfrom19differentprovincesofChinaproperandtwospecimensfromMongoliawerestudied.Inquality,thesecoalsvaryfromlignitetoanthracite,andinagetheybelongtodifferentformationsofTertiary,Cretaceous,JurassicandPermo-Carboniferous.2.Fourmethodsofinvestigation,namely,thethinsection,thepolishedsection,themacerationandtheetchinghavebeenusedinthepresentinvestigation.3.Agreatnumberofvegetabletissuesandorganssuchasparenchymatoscells,stonecells,woodtracheids,scalariformtracheids,bastfiber,barkparenchyma,epidermalcellssometimeswithcellcontents,corkcells,fungihyphae,sclerotites,sporeexines,pollengrainsetc.havebeendetectedinthecoalsstudied.4.OneoftheexceptionallywellpreservedwoodfibershasbeendefinitelyidentifiedtobelongtoXenoxylon,anindexfossilforupperJurassicformation.ThisconiferouswoodisnowknowntobewidelydistributedintheMesozoiccoalbasinofNorthernChina.5.FromthepresenceoffungiactivityintheTertiarycoalaratherdryconditionforthecoalformingperiodmaybeadvocated.Ontheotherhand,theusuallyexcellentlypreservedstateofthevarioustissuesinthePalaeozoiccoalspostulatesacontraryconditioni.e.awetsurroundingandprobablyunderconstantcoveringofwater.