210 



I.OWElt EOCENE FLORAS OF SOUTIIEASTEKN .XOKTII AMElilCA. 



inc; spocios of tlio Gulf Stiitos. It would spom 

 that soutlicastcru North Aincricji dui-ing the 

 fii-st half of the Eocene afforded the (dosest 

 botanic ])arallel with southern Kuro])e duiiiit:^ 

 the later Eocene and early Oli^ocene. 



Baiikfiia saifordi is not uncoinnion at a con- 

 siderahle nuniher of localities and Jiorizons in 

 the Wilcox group. It is most connnon in the 

 upper emhaynient area — that is, north of the 

 houndary between Teimessee and Mississip])i. 

 The locality between Grand Junction and I^a 

 Grange is at least 150 feet above tlie base of ihe 

 Wilcox. since the wells of that depth at Grand 

 Junction fail to penetrate the underlying 

 Porters Creek clay. As shown by well records 

 the Wickliffe plant bed is about 4.')() feet above 

 the base of the Wilcox and the plants from 

 Boaz are probably from al)ont the same level. 

 Somerville is nearer the top of tlie Wilcox and 

 Grenada is at the extreme to]). A single speci- 

 men was found from Boaz on the reverse of 

 one collected by Loughridge and labeled Qiier- 

 cus elaena Unger by Lesquereux.' Tlie species 

 is not Ivnown from the Ackerman formation. 



Occurrence. — Grenada formation, Grenada, 

 Grenada County, Miss, (collected by E. N. 

 Lowe and E. W. Berry). Lagi-ange formation 

 (in beds of Wilcox age) : Somerville, Fayette 

 County, Tenn. (collected by J. M. Safford); U 

 miles west of Graml Junction, in Fayette 

 County, Tenn. (collected by L. C. Glenn and 

 E. W. Berry) ; Puryear, Henry County, Temi. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry); Wickliffe,' BaUard 

 County, Ky. (collected by R. H. Loughridge 

 and L. C. Glemi); and Boaz, Graves County, 

 Ky. (collected by R. H. Loughridge). 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



Banksia tenuifolia Berry, n. sp. 



Plate XXXVI, figures 1-3. 



Description. — Leaves linear in outline antl va- 

 riable in size, ranging from 12 to 30 centime- 

 ters in length and from 2 to 7 millimeters in 

 maximum width, wliich is near tlie middle of 

 the leaf but somewhat nearer the base. Apex 

 very gi-adually nai'rowed to an acuminate tip. 

 Biuse similarly and gradually narrowed. Mar- 

 gins entire for the l)asal third of their length, 

 and in many specimens entire for considerable 

 distaiices iji tile distal two-thirds of their course, 



' Specimen No. 2574, U. S. National Museum, whicli was recorded as 

 Qucrcua neriifolia .Me.xander Braun by I,csqucrcu.\ in U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 Proc, vol. n, p. 12, 1S88. 



or A\-ith irregularly spaced and scattered teeth. 

 As a rule. iiowe\-er. tlie mai'gins above the en- 

 tile basal ]K>rli(in a](> regularly toothed. The 

 teeth ai-e jdaced singly at tlie ends of seconda- 

 ries and range from d(>ntate ])oints directed out- 

 wai'd and sejiai-alcd by shallow ('(juihiterally 

 rounded sinuses, as shown in Plate XXXVI, 

 figiucs 1 and 3, to rather prominent, serrate 

 teeth, dii-ected somewhat upward and sepa- 

 rated l>y inequilateral sinuses, rounded below 

 and straigliter above, as in figure 2. Petiole 

 very shoit , jiractically lacking, since the lamina 

 starts from the extreme base. Midrib stout, 

 relatively very stout, and straight, slightly 

 ciu-ved distad in some of the narrower speci- 

 mens, occujiying one-third of the total width 

 and jiroiiiinent on the lower surface of the leaf. 

 Secondaries numerous, tliin, subparallel, branch- 

 ing from the midrib at angles of 5.")° to 65° and 

 curving slightly upwaril, craspedodrome and 

 terminating in the marginal teeth, or canipto- 

 dronie near the margin in the entire jiarts of 

 the leaf. Areolation minute, more or less ist)di- 

 ametric, composed of four, five, or six sided 

 meshes. Texture very coriaceous. The tex- 

 ture and thick niidril) indicate that these leaves 

 were very rigid in life, and they were also 

 slightly revohite, since the margins are sharpl}^ 

 and broadly impressed in casts of the lower 

 surface. 



This handsome species, though clearly con- 

 generic with Baiilsici saffordl, which it resem- 

 bles in numerous details of its structure, is 

 readily distinguishable, even in small frag- 

 ments, by its narrow linear and greatly elon- 

 gated form and less produced teeth. Though 

 it differs considerably in size, its appearance is 

 unchanged, sinc(> the relative proportions are 

 the same in leaves of all sizes, from the small 

 forms, not over 2 millimeters in maximum width 

 with nearly entire margins, to the lai'ger forms, 

 at least 30 centimeters in length witli regularly 

 toothed margins distad. 



This is one of the most striking forms in the 

 Wilcox flora and must have been a consider- 

 able element of the flora toward the head of the 

 embayment since it has not been collected south 

 of llemy County, Tenn. It is much like a 

 number of existing Australian species of Bank- 

 sia and Dryaiidra. Perhajis Banlsia spiniilosa 

 a. Brown is most hke the American form. 

 Though similar in the bulk of its characters to 

 numerous ICuropean Oligocene species, BanJi- 



