uppermost member of the Cape System of sedimentary rocks in South Africa. It consists of about 805 metres (2,640 feet) of shales and sandstones and is transitional between the Late Devonian epoch and the Early Carboniferous epoch (the Carboniferous began about 360,000,000 years ago). Fossil plants are prominent in Witteberg rocks: numerous genera have been described, including Sigillaria, Lepidodendron, Cyclostigma, and the psilophyte Dutoitia.