DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES— LAURINE^. 215 



1. a II r II s o c o t e o i d c s , sp. iiov. 

 Plate XXXVI, Fig. 10. 



Leaf long, coriaceons, narrowly lanceolate, gradually tapering from below the middlp npward to 

 an obtuse acumen, cuneate to the petiole ; lateral veins thin, open, subeqnidislant, close, slightly cnrvid. 



The smooth or polished surface of the leaf, its coriaceous substance, and 

 its shape and nervation refer it to the Laurinea, though nothing of its areo- 

 lation may be discerned. It is fifteen centimeters long, three centimeters 

 broad, a short distance above the base, where it is the widest, and hence 

 gradually narrowed upward to an apparently obtuse point; for it is not clearly 

 seen if the top is naturally truncate or if its abrupt termination is caused by 

 fracture. The shape is very fine, and rarely observable in leaves of Laurus. 

 Sapoita has seen some of this character in species of the old genus Ocotea, 

 now distributed among other subdivisions of tlie Laurinea:. 



Habitat. — Golden, Colorado. 'Only one specimen, here figured, has 



been found. 



Laurus prsestaiis, Lesqz. 



Plate LXIII, Fig. 7. 

 Launis prwstans, Lesqx., Annual Report, 1874, p. 30.5. 



Leaf large, coriaceous, very entire, elliptical-lanceolate, narrowed in the same degree upward to 

 a sharp- pointed, slightly scythe-shaped acumen, and downward to the petiole; middle nerve very thick; 

 secondary veins strong, equidistant, and parallel. 



The preservation of the leaf is not quite perfect, its lamina being de- 

 stroyed in the lower part. The border line is, however, clearly defined, as 

 represented in the figure. It is sixteen centimeters long without the petiole, 

 five centimeters wide in the middle, has its lateral veins on an acute angle of 

 divergence, 40°, gradually curving in traversing the areas to the borders, 

 which they closely follow in simple festoons. It has no distinct tertiary veins, 

 but the veinlets are strong, mostly simple, or sparingly branched, with the 

 interspaces filled with small polygonal areolae, appearing all of the same ulti- 

 mate degree. This leaf might be compared to many species of the European 

 Miocene, Persea specioso, Heer, Laurus jninccps, Heer, etc., especially this 

 last species as represented in Fl. Tert. Helv., pi. xc, fig. 20, by a leaf of 

 about the same size. It is, however, distinctly characterized by its equidis- 

 tant secondary nerves, without intermediate tertiary ones; its strong veinlets, 

 mostly simple, and especially its very thick midrib. This last character 

 refers it to Peraea luncifolia^-- Lesqx. (Trans. Amcr. Phil. Soc, vol. xiii, p. 

 419, pi. xix, figs. 3 and 4), represented by two leaves which are gradually 



*Descril)cd as P. lanel/olia ; quoted by Scliiniper as P. lanctolata. 



