Four fragments of anatomically preserved ovulate cycadeoid cones have been recovered from Upper Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) sediments of Vancouver and Hornby Islands, British Columbia, Canada. All of the specimens consist of tightly packed interseminal scales and ovulate sporophylls with terminal ovules. One specimen also preserves remains of a small receptacle. Interseminal scales and ovulate sporophylls are oriented more-or-less parallel to one another. Ovules are distinctly stellate proximal to the tubular micropyle, and the sarcotesta consists of longitudinally oriented tubular cells that are attached to the sclerotesta only at the apex. The vascular strand below the base of each ovule is highly contorted in a pattern characteristic of contractile tissue in some living plants, and this provides evidence for some post-pollination facets of reproductive biology. These cones are quite similar to Bennettites gibsonianus Carruthers, Bennettites morierei (Saporta and Marion) Lignier, Bennettites albianus Stopes, and several species of ovulate Cycadeoidea as described by Wieland. The superb preservation of these and other cones from Vancouver Island demonstrates that Cycadeoidales/Bennettitales lack a cupule, have radial seeds, have nucellar vascular tissue (but no integumentary tracheids), and that no pollen chamber is produced. Together with a Williamsonia preserved in the same deposits, these specimens also provide a clear set of contrasting systematic characters for differentiating between isolated cones of the Williamsoniaceae and Cycadeoidaceae.

Key words: Bennettitales, Cretaceous, Cycadeoidales, Seed Cones