COMPOSITIOX OF THE FLORA. 



103 



region of South America and 1 in tropical West 

 Africa. The subfamily Maiigiferae. which in- 

 cludes about 80 species, in entirely Malaysian 

 except for a species of Gluta Linne in Mada- 

 gascar and the genus Anacarditmi Linn^, 

 which is confined to tropical South America, 

 chiefly Brazil. The subfamily Spondiese is 

 found in the Tropics of both hemispheres. The 

 subfamily Rhoide« is fotmd on aU the con- 

 tinents and shows a pairing of a considerable 

 nimiber of genera in equatorial Africa and 

 America. The two remaining subfamihes, the 

 Semecarpe* and the Debinee», are restricted 

 to the region extending from India to Australia. 

 The family contains 20 monotypic genera, 

 distributed as follows: Asia .5. AustraUa o, 

 Africa 6. Madagascar -i, Xorth America 2. and 

 South America 1. 



The fossil records of the Anacardiaceie are 

 very incomplete, although there seems to be no 

 doubt that it was represented in both Europe 

 and North America as far back as the Upper 

 Cretaceous. As in the existing fiora. the most 

 abimdant genus in the fossil record is Rhus, to 

 which more than 100 species have been referred. 

 Eight of these forms are Upper Cretaceous, 

 the oldest coming from North American strata 

 correlated with the Cenomanian (Raritan and 

 Dakota '<. The genus appears in Europe in the 

 Tm-onian of Bohemia. There are more than a 

 dozen Eocene species of Rhus, widely scattered. 

 Thus, there are 3 in the Ypresian of Alum Bay. 

 4 in western Greenland, and species in the 

 Lance. Kenai. Fort Union, and Green River 

 formations of North America. The genus 

 doubles its known species in the early Ohgocene 

 and is especially well represented in southern 

 France but also recorded from the Tyrol, the 

 Biiltic amber. Ittilv. Civrniola. and Sivria. 



In the Miocene Rhus seems to have been as 

 abimdant. as well diflferentiated, and as widely 

 distributed as it is in the existmg flora, for 

 more than 60 fossil species have already been 

 described. The records embrace all European 

 countries where Miocene plants have been 

 foimd. as well as Iceland and the following 

 Xortli American localities: Maryland. Virginia. 

 Colorado. Yellowstone Park. Idaho. Nevada. 

 Oregon, and California. Oidy a small number 

 of Phocene species are recorded m Spain. 

 France. Italy. Gernumv. and Slavonia. 



Three Pleistocene species are recorded, 2 

 from Japan and 1 from China, all closely re- 



lated to stUl existing species of that r^on. 

 Engler ' some years ago reviewed the geologic 

 records of Rhus and concluded that most of the 

 then known fossil species belonged to the sec- 

 tion Trichocarpse. which in the existing flora 

 coritains more than a score of species, mostly 

 confined to North America and eastern Asia, 

 or to the section Gerontogea?. which includes 

 7-5 existmg species, principally foimd in South 

 -\frica. A few fossil forms he considered as 

 representing the section Venenata, which 

 includes about 14 existing species in North and 

 South .America. The other sections into which 

 the genus is subdivided were not recognized 

 among the fossil forms. 



The alLed genus Cotinus. which contains 2 or 

 3 existing species in Eurasia and North 

 America, is probably represented by some of 

 the fossil forms referred to Rhus. Saporta 

 considers Ehu-s antUopum Unger from the 

 Aquitanian of Kumi to be a species of Cotinus. 

 This author has also described Cotinus palso- 

 eotinu-s. and Cockerell has described Cotinus 

 frrritrtia from the Miocene of Florissant, Colo. 



The genus Pistacia. which contains 5 existing 

 Mediterranean species and 1 each in eastern 

 Asia and Mexico, is represented by about 15 

 known fossil species, the oldest of which, of 

 doubtful value, comes from the Raritan of 

 Staten Island. A second Cretaceous species is 

 found in the Laramie of Colorado. Europe is 

 represented in the record by an Ypresian species 

 from Alxmi Bay. There are 3 Oligocene species 

 in France and 7 Miocene species in France. 

 Prussia. Bohemia. Styria. Gahcia. and Transyl- 

 vania. There is a Pliocene species in Styria 

 and another in Holland, an extinct Pleistocene 

 species on the island of Madeira, and the exist- 

 ing Pistacia lentiscus Linne in the Pleistocene 

 of Santorin. 



The genus Anacardites Saporta (Anacardio- 

 phyllum^ has been used as a form genus for 

 fossil Anacardiaceie of imcertain generic re- 

 lationship. As used by Saporta it represented 

 fossil forms that resemble existing species of 

 Mangifera.Anaphrenium.Spondias.Comocladia, 

 Holigama. and the like, but not determinable 

 with certainty. Heer has described a supposed 

 species of .Vnacardites from the Atane beils of 

 western Greenland. There are 2 species in the 

 Sparnacian and 1 in the Ypresian of France, 

 and 7 well-marked species in t he Wdco.x. There 



1 Engler, A., Bot. Jahrb.. Bd. 1, p{>. US-US, ISSl. 



