The following diagrammatic section shows the general sequence of the Permian deposits in the north of England, where the series is extensively developed (fig. 133):—­

[Illustration:  Fig. 133.  GENERALISED SECTION OF THE PERMIAN ROCKS IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.]

The record of the life of the Permian period is but a scanty one, owing doubtless to the special peculiarities of such of the deposits of this age with which we are as yet acquainted.  Red rocks are, as a general rule, more or less completely unfossiliferous, and sediments of this nature are highly characteristic of the Permian.  Similarly, magnesian limestones are rarely as highly charged with organic remains as is the case with normal calcareous deposits, especially when they have been subjected to concretionary action, as is observable to such a marked extent in the Permian limestones.  Nevertheless, much interest is attached to the organic remains, as marking a kind of transition-period between the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic epochs.

[Illustration:  Fig. 134.—­Walchia piniformis, from the Permian of Saxony, a, Branch; b, Twig, (After Gutbier.)]

The plants of the Permian period, as a whole, have a distinctly Palaeozoic aspect, and are far more nearly allied to those of the Coal-measures than they are to those of the earlier Secondary rocks; though the Permian species are mostly distinct from the Carboniferous, and there are some new genera.  Thus, we find species of Lepidodendron, Calamites, Equisetites, Asterophyllites, Annularia, and other highly characteristic Carboniferous genera.  On the other hand, the Sigillariods of the Coal seem to have finally disappeared at the close of the Carboniferous period.  Ferns are abundant in the Permian rocks, and belong for the most part to the well-known Carboniferous genera Alethopteris, Neuropteris, Sphenopteris, and Pecopteris.  There are also Tree-ferns referable to the ancient genus Psaronius.  The Conifers of the Permian period are numerous, and belong in part to Carboniferous genera.  A characteristic genus, however, is Walchia (fig. 134), distinguished by its lax short leaves.  This genus, though not exclusively Permian, is mainly so, the best-known species being the W.  Piniformis.  Here, also, we meet with Conifers which produce true cones, and which differ, therefore, in an important degree from the Taxoid Conifers of the Coal-measures.  Besides Walchia, a characteristic form of these is the Ullmania selaginoides, which occurs in the Magnesian Limestone of Durham, the Middle Permian of Westmorland, and the “Kupfer-schiefer” of Germany.  The group of the Cycads, which we shall subsequently find to be so characteristic of the vegetation of the Secondary period, is, on the other hand, only doubtfully represented in the Permian deposits by the singular genus Noeggerathia.