184 BERRY— LOWER EOCENE FLORA OF [April 25, 



are three species from the Wilcox Group. There is another in the 

 overlying Claiborne Group. The Vicksburg Group has furnished a 

 very common form with several well-marked varieties some of the 

 leaves of which show their glandular punctate character beautifully 

 preserved. Still another form is found in the Apalachicola Group 

 of Florida. 



The genus Ruta Linne with upwards of 100 existing species 

 mostly of Eurasia although present in Africa and South America, 

 has furnished Menzel (1913) with characteristic capsules in the 

 Aquitanian of Rhenish Prussia. 



The genus Phellodendron Rupr. with two existing Asiatic spe- 

 cies is represented in the Acjuitanian of Rhenish Prussia by fruits 

 (drupe). Engelhardt has described species of Ticorca, Pilocarpus 

 and Erythrochyton from the early Tertiary of Chili. 



The remaining genus with fossil representation is Ptelea Linne 

 which has 7 or 8 existing species^" confined to the United States and 

 Mexico. The fossil forms are represented by both leaves and char- 

 acteristic fruits. The oldest comes from the Arctic Eocene. There 

 is a species in the Oligocene of Italy and six Miocene species, occur- 

 ing in Colorado, France, Switzerland, Carniola and Hungary. A 

 Pliocene species is recorded from Italy. Obviously the record will 

 have to become much less fragmentary before any creditable conclu- 

 sions can be drawn respecting the place of origin and geologic his- 

 tory of the Rutacese. 



The family Simarubacese (often spelled Simaroubacese) in- 

 cludes about 28 genera and upwards of 150 existing species of 

 shrubs or trees with pinnate leaves and drupaceous fruits, con- 

 fined chiefly to the tropics and the warmer parts of the north- 

 ern hemisphere. Only three of the existing species reach as far 

 northward as the coast of southern Florida. The family is still rep- 

 resented on all the continents except Europe. Two genera with 

 four species are confined to Asia ; 3 genera with 4 species are con- 

 fined to Australia ; 4 genera with 6 species are confined to 

 Africa and 9 genera with 71 species are confined to America. 

 The most widespread species is the monotypic Suriana maritiuia 

 Linne a cosmopolitan tropical strand plant occurring on the dunes, 

 keys arid coastal hammocks of southern Florida. 



30 Greene has recently described very many poorly established new species. 



