CUKXOl'OUIAI.KS 



213 



roiuuk'd apex and a cordate l>aso. I>('ii<;th 

 alxmt 8.5 ceiitinu'tors. Maximum width, 

 midway between the a]iex and tlie l)ase, ahoiit 

 7.5 centimeters. Margins entire, full and uii- 

 (hilate. Textm-o coriaceous. Petiole sliort 

 and broad, practically wantinl,^ . Midrib stout, 

 ])romincnt, (un'ved. Secondaries stout, four or 

 (ivesubopposite paii's, the lowci- pairs (h\erj.;in.>j 

 from the midrib at wide an<;les, the upper one 

 or two pairs at acute angles, ;dl pursuing ex- 

 tended, somewhat flcxuous, sweeping, e-ui'\-ed 

 C(Mn-ses, eventually parallel with tlu" margin 

 ixlong whicli they arch. 



The present well-marked species is named 

 from its resend)lance to the existing ( 'nccalohis 

 uvifrra Jac(iuin, which inhabits tidal sliores aiul 

 beaches from Mosquito Inlet and Tampa Bay 

 southward along tlie coast of peninsular Florida 

 and is connnt)n in tlie Bermuda and Bahama 

 Islands, in the Antilles, and along the South 

 American coast from Colombia to Brazil. The 

 fossil leaves are somewhat smaller than those 

 of the existing species, l)ut otherwise tliey agr(>e 

 closely in all of tlieir cliaracters. A character- 

 istic view of tlie habitat of the modern species 

 is shown on Plato VIII. 



Coccolohis uvifcrafolia differs from the other 

 Wilcox species, Coccolohis coHgnitica Berry, in 

 about the same way tliat the existing Coccolohis 

 uvifera Jacquin differs from tlie other Floritla 

 species, Coccolohis laurifolia Jacquin. It is an 

 interesting fact that these two modern types of 

 the Florida Keys and tropical .America should 

 be associated along the Wilcox coast in western 

 Tennessee. 



There are likewise two species in the flora of 

 the overlying Claiborne group, one of whicli, 

 Coccolohis columbianus Berry, greatly resem- 

 bles the present species. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds of 

 Wilcox age), Puryear, Hemy County, Teiin. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Order CHENOPODIALES. 



Family NYCTAGINACEffi. 



Genus PISONIA Linne. 



PlSONiA EOLIGNITICA Berry, n. sp. 



Plate XXXVIII, figures 5 siud G. 



Description. — Leaves small and sessile, ob- 

 lanceolate to obovate in gc-neral outline, tlie 

 ape.x rounded or obtusely pointed and the 



base narrowly cuneatc or slightly decurrent. 

 I.,engtii ranges from 'J.G to M.l centimeters. 

 Maximum width, at or above (h(^ mid<lle of 

 the leaf, ranges from 7.5 to 12 millimeters. 

 Tlie narrower leaves are thus somewhat 

 s])aluhite in appearance. Margins entire, 

 full, and rather eveidy rounded, exce|)t, 

 wiiere they straig]it(Mi to form the cu- 

 neale base, decidedly revolute. Texture^ tiiick 

 and coriaceous, the venation, exce])t for tlni 

 mi(h'ib, being entirely immersed and obscdete. 

 The nnch'ii) is stout, nearly straiglit, ;uid pi'omi- 

 nenl on the lower surface of tlu> leaf. This 

 feature is well shown in the larger of the tvvo 

 figured s|)ecimens, which represents a leaf with 

 its substance preserved, the under side being 

 exposed and showing, in addition to the stout, 

 ]ironiinent midrib, the revolute character of tlie 

 very entire margin. The midril) is not at all 

 ]iroiuiuent on the upper surface of the leaf and 

 is scarcely discernible, even toward the base, 

 in the smaller specimen figured, which is a nar- 

 row form of tliis species that is preserved with 

 the upper surface exposed. 



This is a well-marked species, readUy distin- 

 guished by the absence of a petiole and by its 

 broad tip, narrow base, thick substance, and 

 revolute margins, all features that serve to sep- 

 arate it from the following associated species. 

 It is very similar to several existing American 

 species of Pisonia, for example Pisonia longifolia 

 Sargent, which extends northward from Brazil 

 tlirough the West Indies to the Florida Keys as 

 far as C'ape Canaveral. Pisonid longifolia is a 

 fiiir-sized tree with an erect or inclineil truidv, 

 an inhabitant of sea beaches and the sliores of 

 salt-water lagoons. Its most striking difference 

 from the fossil is in the petiolate cliaract(>r of 

 the leaves, the petioles being about 1.25 centi- 

 meters in length. Other comparable existing 

 American forms are Pisonia floridana Britton 

 and Pisonia macrantlwcarpa. Donnell Smith. 



Ciiq)])y states tliat the seeds of the i'olynesiaii 

 species have no l)Uoyancy, Init tliat the; fruits 

 are sticky and arii distributed l)y their projierty 

 of adhering to the jihmuigi^ of bii'ds. 



The modern species of Pisonia are numerous 

 and occur chiefly in tlie Tropics in both hemi- 

 spheres, but mostly in America. About a dozen 

 fossil species are known and tliere are several 

 different forms in tlie European Tertiarv, some 

 of them n^presented by fruits as well as leaves. 

 Pisonia makes its a|)pearan<'e in the Ujiper 



