AEECALES. 



179 



Boyclsvillo, Clay Couiilv, Ark. (collected by 

 E. W. Berry) ; sec. l'_', T. 17 N., R. 15 W., iieiir 

 Shreveport, Caddo Parish, and 5 miles soutlieast 

 of Nabortoii, l)e Soto Parish, La. (collected by 

 O.B. Hopkins) ; Old Port Caddo Landing, Little 

 Cypress Bayou, Harrison County, Tex. (col- 

 lected by T. W. Vaughan) . Lagrange formation 

 (in beds of Wilcox age) : Breedlove Pit, lu^ar 

 Henry, Henry County, Tenn. (collected l)y 

 E. W. Berry); Pinson, Madison County, Tenn. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry) ; and Baughs Bridge, 

 Wolf Kiver, near La Grange, Fayette County, 

 Temi. (collected by L. C. Jolxnson). lieds of 

 Wilcox age: Calareras Creek, Wilson County, 

 Tc.x. (collected b}- .Uexander Deussen). 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum; I'ni- 

 versity of Mississippi. 



Genus CHAM^DOREA Willdenow. 



Cham-edorea maxai (Lesquereu.x). 

 Plates Xir. figure 4. and XIII. figures 1-:?. 



Cyca.s. Hilgard, Report on the geology and agriculture of 

 Mississippi, pp. 108, 117, 1800. 



Calamopsis Datiiii. Lesquereux in Dana, Manual of geol- 

 ogy. 1st ed., ]). 513, %. 795, 18(i(;. 



Calamopsis Danai. Lesquereux, Am. Philos. Soc. Trans., 

 vol. 13. p. 411. pi. 14, figs. 1-3. 1869. 



Description. — Lesquereux's description, juib- 

 lished in 1SG9, is as follows; . 



C. foliia magnis, frondosis, pinnatis; pinnis gramineis, 

 planis. oppositis, tequidistantibua, basi aubattenuatis; 

 nervis primariis 3-5 sequalibus, secondariis unicis, graci- 

 lioribus. lineales areas dividentibus, nervulis minimis, 

 parallelibus, apjjroximatis, notatas. 



This handsome feather palm is represented 

 by rather scanty material, that collected by 

 HiJgard more than 50 j'ears ago being by far 

 the best that has come to light. Lesquereux's 

 figured specimens are still preserved in the Hil- 

 gard collection, and with this and some addi- 

 tional material for study the writer is miable to 

 verify Lesquereux's diagnosis in several rather 

 important particulars. In the fu'st place, the 

 leaflets or rays are not opposite ; they are mark- 

 edly decurrent, and a fairly pronrincnt midrib 

 is found in all the material. The species may 

 be recharacterized as follows: Rachis long and 

 slender, bearing numerous alternat(i l(>afiets, at 

 least more than a dozen pairs. These leaflets 

 are linear-lanceolate m outline, thc^ tips are ex- 

 tended and gradually narrowed, and the bases 

 ai'e more abruptly narrowed. TI)(>y form an 

 angle of about 40° with the racliis, but this 



angle iiuiy have been wider toward the base, 

 as all the preserved specimens are from the 

 distal half of the leaf. Theses lateral rays or 

 leaflets (pinnae) differ considerably in size, tlie 

 maximum dimensions being 'M) centimeters in 

 estimated length and 2.5 centimeters in width 

 in the basal lialf of tiie leaflet. The average 

 (hinensions apjjcar to be about 25 centimeters 

 in l(>ngth by L5 centimeters in ma.ximunt 

 width. 'I'he venation consists of a markedly 

 decurrcMit midi'ib of al)out twice the caliber of 

 the secondaries. Secondaries, one or two on 

 each sid(^ parallel with the midrib. Halfway 

 between the adjoining pairs of secondaries, or 

 between the secondaries and the midrib, are 

 fine tertiaries, the outside one on each side run- 

 ning rather close to the margin at a distance 

 from the outside secondary that amounts to 

 half the space between that secondary and the 

 one next to it. In each of the areas between a 

 secondary and a tertiary tlaere are from three 

 to five very fine, equally spaced, parallel vein- 

 lets, and there are one or two of these vcinlets 

 between the outside tertiary and the margin. 

 No transveree nervilles are visible with magnifi- 

 cation. This characteristic venation is illus- 

 trated in Plato XIII, figure 3, which shows the 

 appearance and relative dimensions when en- 

 larged four times of a ray with a single sec- 

 ondary on each side. In texture the leaflets 

 seem to be thin, but of a firm consistency. Fig- 

 ure 12 (p. ISO) shows a much reduced resto- 

 ration of a complete leaf. 



The genus Calamopsis, to which Lesqueretix 

 referred this species, was described by Heer ' in 

 1859 with Calamopsis hredana from the Torto- 

 nian of Baden as the type and only species. Its 

 distinguishing character was the absence of a 

 midrib. This suggested to Prof. Heer a com- 

 parison with the numerous oriental species of 

 the Ilecent genera Calamus, Plectoconna, and 

 Zalacca. Schenk ^ in his discussion of Heer's 

 species considers it to b(^ referable to the sub- 

 family Phceniceie and that it is allied with 

 those species usually referred to Brongniart's 

 genus Phamicites. 



Scheldt appears not to have been familiar 

 with Lesquereux's species, although that spe- 

 cies was published nearly a score of years before. 

 I am unable to judge from Heer's figures 

 whether the basis for Schenk's suggestion is 



' Ucrr, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Uplvctia^, vol. :i, ji. 109, pi. 149, IS.TO. 

 -iSchcnk, .v., in ZiUel's llandbuch der i'alaeoiitologie, Abth.2, Lief 4, 

 p. 373, 1885. 



