New Silurian cooksonias from dolostones of north-eastern North America

New specimens of Cooksonia and Hostinella are described from the Bertie Group of Ontario and New York State, which is dated by faunas as latest Silurian (Pridoli). The rare plant fossils are unusual in that they are preserved in fine-grained, slightly argillaceous dolostones ('waterlime') rather than clastic rocks. At least two species of Cooksonia are present, one with +/- globular sporangial morphology close to C. hemisphaerica Lang. Those with ellipsoidal/ discoidal sporangia are compared with C. pertoni Lang, C. paranensis Gerrienne et al. and C. bohemica Schweitzer, the latter represented by a single specimen from the Pridoli of the Czech Republic. However, the paucity of specimens, which prevents assessment of taphonomic influences on shape, combined with the absence of any anatomical features and the gross morphological simplicity of the fossils, precludes specific assignment. Specimens of Hostinella include one in which apices and a lateral basal structure resembling a root are preserved. It is concluded that the Laurentian assemblage of Ontario and New York State is less diverse and disparate than coeval assemblages, which are also preserved in marine rocks. Its preservation in limestones may have been facilitated by the hypersalinity inferred from various sedimentary features, which would restrict the activity of many decomposers. (C) 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 146, 399-413.