with .Descriptions of New Species of Fossil Plants. 



these. P. aceroides, a species from the Tertiariea • ' Europi 

 more closely allied to our living ones than these seem to be. 

 The largest and finest of those now described, in its Bmoothi 

 of surface, its crowded and parallel nervation, departs more 

 widely from the typical species of Platanus than the others, and 

 has more the appearance of a tropical plant. An extensive series 

 of comparisons have, however, suggested no affinities closer than 

 those with the living Platanus; and I have little doubt that in 

 these leaves, of which the collection contains u large number, 

 we have representatives of the noblest and most beautiful 

 cies of the genus. 



Two of the species of Corylus present no characters by 

 which they can be distinguished from the two now distributed 

 over the temperate portions of our continent, ('. r<>str<it-i ami 

 C. Americana / and I have therefore not felt justified in consid 

 ering them distinct. The Cart/a described seems to me clearly 

 to belong to this genus, and to be closely allied to <>ne ,,t* our 

 living species. The Tilia, also, is not far removed from the 

 southern variety of our common living Bpecies, while the 

 Negundo, Sapindus, &c, seem to be the representatives of the 

 genera and species now growing in the region from which 

 these fossils come. 



From this flora, considering it the analogue and progenil 

 of that which now occupies our territory, we miss some impor- 

 tant elements, which we may confidently expect will he sup 

 plied by future collections. Among the mosl Btriking "ft! 

 deficiencies may be mentioned Acer, Quercus, Liriodend 

 Liquidamlar, Sassafras, etc., some of which, we know, began 

 their life upon the continent during the Cretaceona period, and 

 all of them were members of the Miocene floraoftheOld World. 

 Liquidambar, Quercus, and MagnoUa occur in the I' 

 beds of New Jersey; MagnoUa and Quercu in tie M 

 strata of the Mississippi Valley. Fagus^ also, which is wan* 

 in this collection, has been obtained from 06 by 



Lesquereux. 



