126 



LOWER EOCENIJ FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN XOKTH AMEHTCA. 



Myrsinites. Ettiiigshauson recorded a species 

 of Pleiomerit(>s from the Miocene of Bohemiii, 

 siiid the genus Mnesu Foi"skiil, which contains 

 about 40 nuxU^rn species in Asia, Africa, 

 Australia, and Polynesia, is represented in the 

 Oligocene of Transylvania and Egypt, in the 

 Miocene of Styria, and in the Pliocene of 

 Limburg. 



Tlie genus Ardisia Swartz (iiicludmg Ai-disio- 

 phyllum Geyler) mcludes about a dozen fossil 

 species, the oldest of which, a very doubtfully 

 determined form, comes from the Turonian 

 of Bohemia. There is an Eocene or Oligocene 

 species in Chile. Thi-ee Oligocene species are 

 found m Bohemia and one occurs in Transyl- 

 vania. There are 4 Miocene species in France, 

 Bohemia, and Styiia, and Pliocene species in 

 Holland, Itah*, and Borneo. 



The genus Icacorea Aublet is the only mem- 

 ber of the MyrsmacejB found m the Wilcox 

 flora. The genus contams numerous existing 

 species confined to South America. The fossil 

 record is meager but includes 2 or 3 species 

 of the European Oligocene. The Wilcox species 

 is thus considerably older than any European 

 occurrence. It represents a fonn which is 

 very close to the modern Icacorea panicuhta 

 Sudworth, a shrub or slender tree of the 

 Florida Keys, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the 

 east coast of southern Mexico. In addition 

 to the foregoing records at least 4 kinds of 

 flowers have been described from the Baltic 

 amber (Sannoisian). These are Berendtia 

 Goppert (2 species), Myrsinopsis Conwentz, 

 and Sendelia Goppert. 



Though the geologic history of the family is 

 so incomplete it is not without significance that, 

 like so many families previously discussed, the 

 oldest fossil representatives of this predomi- 

 nantly American family in the existing flora 

 occur in the basal Upper Ci-etaceous of North 

 America. 



The order Ebenales includes the families 

 Sapotaceaj, Ebcnacea?, Styracaceai, and Symplo- 

 cacea;, which contain more than 1,000 existing 

 species. The larger families are the Sapotacese 

 and Ebenacese, both of which are represented 

 in the Wilcox flora; the other two families are 

 sparingly represented in the European Ter- 

 tiary. The considerable rang(\ in floral struc- 

 tures, from indefiiutcuiess in the number of 

 stamens and carpels and polypetaly to a 4 to 8 

 cyclic an-angement, leads floral morpholo- 



gists to consider the order as among the most 

 primitive of the Gamoj)etala3. 



T]i(> family Sapotacere comprises trees or 

 shrubs liiat have a milky juice and that bear 

 altei-nale, simple, entire, mostly coriaceous, 

 pcti(>lat<', exstipidate leaves. It contams about 

 32 genera and nearly 400 existing species in all 

 tropical countries. About half of the existing 

 species are American. Eleven genera are 

 cqnfmed to America, 7 to Africa, 3 to Aus- 

 tralia, 2 to New Caledonia. 2 to Asia and 

 Malaysia, 2 to Malaysia, and 1 to Asia. The 

 three large genera Sidcroxylon, Chiysophyllum, 

 and Mimusops are represented in all tropical 

 countries. Four genera and 12 species are 

 represented in the WUcox flora. The largest 

 of these genera is Bumeha Swartz, whit'Ji 

 mcludes 6 weU-marked Wdcox species. Bume- 

 lia, which contains about a score of species, is 

 confuied to America in the existing flora, ranging 

 from the southern United States through the 

 West Indies and Central America to Brazil. 

 It mcludes numerous fossil species, the oldest 

 of which comes from the Upper Cretaceous 

 (Dakota sandstone) of the western interior 

 region. In addition to the 6 Wilcox species, 

 which are prototypes of stfll existing forms, 

 there are 2 Eocene species (Ypresian) in south- 

 em England. There are about a doz(>n 

 Ohgocene species, 10 of which ai-e widespread 

 in Europe, 1 is found in the Apalachicola 

 group of western Florida, and two forms, 

 representing both leaves and fruit, are found 

 m the Vicksburg group of Louisiana and Texas. 

 Seven or eight Miocene species are widespread 

 m Europ(\ and one is recorded from the late 

 Miocene of Colorado. 



The genus Chrysophyllum Linne, which 

 includes about 60 existing species, found in all 

 tropical countries luit chiefly American, con- 

 tains a supposed species in the Tapper Creta- 

 ceous of vSaxony (Niederschoena), a well- 

 marked species in the Wilcox, 3 Oligocene and 

 6 Miocene species in Europe, and 1 in Colom])ia. 



The genus Mimusops Linne, which contains 

 about 40 existing species in the Tropics, includes 

 3 weU-marked Wilcox species and a fourth in 

 the overlying Claiborne deposits. To it has 

 been referred a species from the Upper Creta- 

 ceous of Saxony (Niederschoena), and it is 

 undoubtedly represent(>d in the Upper Creta- 

 ceous of the embayment region as well as else- 

 where bv the leaves that have been referred to 



