DESCEIPTION OF SPECIES— CONIFERS— CUPRESSINE^. 73 



and the relative position of the leaves are not satisfactorily distinguishable. 

 The primary branches, more or less flexuous, two to three millimeters thick, 

 are long, diverging in a more or less acute angle from the main axis, with 

 their leaves distant, linear or Ungulate, abruptly pointed ; the first divisions, 

 distichous, turned upward, are variable in- length, some of them regularly 

 pinnately subdivided in simple, short, obtuse branchlets, others elongated and 

 simple from the middle. The leaves of the divisions are short and small, one 

 to two millimeters long and about half as broad, closely imbricated and ap- 

 pressed upon each other, the upper outlines only being discernible, apparently 

 placed in spiral order, a disposition, however, remarked upon a very small 

 specimen (fig. 13), the only one where the thin coat of coaly matter is pre- 

 served, but not distinctly seen upon the large specimen (fig. 14), which is 

 apparently a counterpart or impression, whereupon the leaves are marked only 

 by black points, or short lines whose relative position is irregular. The spe- 

 cies is related to Widdringtonia antiqua, Sap. (Et., 2, 1, p. 6 J, pi. 1, fig. 4), 

 by the form of the leaves, which, however, are more closely appressed in our 

 species, and more distinctly in spiral order around tbe branchlets. The 

 celebrated French author considers this American Conifer as very interesting 

 and remarkable, representing either a new type or an Arthrotaxis, or even a 

 Dacridlum. Its generic relation is therefore indefinite. 



Habitat. — Point of Rocks, Wyoming Territory l^Dr. F. V. Hayden, 

 Win. Cle.burri); found in numerous but small specimens. The branch in 

 fig. 14 is the largest; the others have only secondary divisions and branchlets, 



as in fig. 13. 



TAXODIUM, Rich. 



Taxodium distichum miocenicnm, Heer. 



Plate VI, Figs. 12-14 a. 



Taxodium dubium, Heer, Lesqx., Annual Report, 1872, p. 389 ; 1873, p. 409. 



Braccblets caducous, filiform ; leaves distant or sometimes two close together, alternate, distich- 

 ous, narrowed to the very short-petioled base, linear, obtuse, or obtusely pointed, flat, with a distinct mid- 

 dle nerve. 



This species, described by Heer in the Arctic Flora as T. dubium, and 

 separated in the Baltic Flora under the present name, is represented in our 

 Tertiary flora by numerous fragments, branchlets only. The cones described 

 and figured by the author as subglobose, with large scales marked in the 

 middle by a transverse costa, umbonate at the center and verrucose, have not 

 yet been found in our Tertiary measures. The leaves greatly vary in size, 



