KOSALES. 



219 



meters. Petiole short and stout, sibout 5 niilli- 

 iiieters in length. Midrib stout and straiglit, 

 [)roininent op the lower surfac(> of tlie leaf. 

 Secondaries numerous and regular, rather i)roni- 

 inent on the lower surface of the leaf, a])out 

 1-1 ])airs, branehing from the iiiidril) at angles 

 that a\-erage betweiMi .'j.")° and 60°, pursuing a 

 slightly curved outward course to (he vicinity 

 of tlie nuirgin, where they (-urve upward in a 

 canijitodi'onu' manner. Tertiaries nunu'rous, at 

 a])proxiinatcly right angles to the secondaries. 



This well-marked species belongs to a type 

 often n^ferred to the genus Quercus by ])alc()- 

 bolanists and somewhat similar forms luive 

 also been referred to Sajjindus. To be sure, 

 they are not unlike the existuig Quercus; jiIkIIhn 

 hmne or Qutrcuf; hrevifolia vSargent, and if 

 found in a more recent flora or in one showing 

 a temperate facies, such an identification woidd 

 perhaps be ])roper. As, however, they occur 

 in this early Eocene flora associated with i-le- 

 ments that even the most captious critic can 

 not dispute, it seems desirable to look in some 

 other family for their nearest living rejiresenta- 

 tive, particrdarly as the venation oilers minor 

 contrasts to tluit of Quercus. 



Extended search shows that these Eocene 

 leaves can scarcely be disthiguished from those 

 of Caffans domingensis Sprengel of the Cappari- 

 dacea>, a family which comprises about .35 geiu'ra 

 that are widely distributed in the warmer parts 

 of both hemispheres. The genus Capparis em- 

 braces more tlian 100 species of shrubs or small 

 trees, chiefly tropical, and although found also 

 in the Eastern Hemisphere, most of the species 

 occiu- in the American Tropics, particularly 

 in Central and South America. Capparis do- 

 mingensis is a small Antillean tree and its leaves 

 are rather smaller than most of the members 

 of the geniis. Several of the West Indian 

 forms, as, for example, Capparis ferruginea 

 Linne, C. am>igdaUiM Lamarck, and C. cijno- 

 jyliallo pliora Lume, are shrubs or small trees of 

 the strand flora, the first bemg especially com- 

 mon in such an environment. The fossil 

 species is somewhat similar to a form described 

 by Engelhardt' from the Tertiary of Bolivia as 

 Capparis multinervis, which is comjiared with 

 the existing Capparis angvslij'olia Hund)oldt, 

 Bonpland, and Kunth of southern Mexico, 

 Capparis jacohinse Moricand of Brazil, and 



' Engclliardt, TIcrmann, Naturwiss. Gosell. Isis iu Dresden Abh.. 

 1894, p. 7, pi. 1, fig. 18. 



Capparis longi folia from tlie Antilles, linger - 

 many years ago described Capparis ogi/gia 

 from the middle Mioccn(^ of rarschlug, Styria, 

 but Schim])er ^ referred that s])(>cies to the 

 Pliaseolea\ In addition Schenk lias desci-ibcd 

 jielritied material from th(> Tertiary of Egy])t 

 as (^appai'idoxylon and F. von Miilh'i' lias de- 

 scribed two or three species of fruits of tlie 

 genera Dieune and Plesiocapjiaris from the 

 la((^ Ter'tiary of Australia. Plesiocapparis is 

 said to l)e most closely related to (he section 

 Busbeckia of rai)])aris. 



A fine large s])ecimeii of the present species 

 from Puryear measures 8 centimeters in length 

 and 1.7.5 centimeters in maximum width. 



Occurrence. — Holly Springs sand, Holly 

 S])rings, Eai'ly Grove, Marshall ('(umty. Miss, 

 (collected by E. W. Berry). Grenada forma- 

 tion, Grenada, Grenada Countv, Miss, (col- 

 lected by E. N. Lowe and !<]. w". Berry). La- 

 grange formation (in beds of Wilcox age), Pur- 

 year, Henry County, Tenn. (collected ])y E. W. 

 Berry). 



CoUccfions. — IT. S. National Museum. 



Order RO SALES. 

 Family HAMAMELIDACE.a:. 

 Genus PARROTIA C. A. Meyer. 



Partiotia cuneata (Newberry) Bc-rry. 



\'ibunimn ctincatvm. Newbeny, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc, 

 vol. .5, p. 511,1882(188.3)." 

 Newbeny, U. S.Geol. Survey Mon. .S.t, p. l.^O, ])1. 57, 

 fig. 2, 1898. 



Description. — Leaf obovate in general out- 

 line, the apex broadly pointed and the base 

 narrowly cuneate. Length, about 11 centi- 

 meters. Maximum width, above the middle, 

 about 4.5 centim(^ters. Margins entire from 

 the region of maximum width to the base; dis- 

 tad they are strongly and massively dentate 

 toothed. The teeth are large and six or seven 

 on each side; they arc directed upward and 

 are separated by curved sinuses. The texture 

 is coriaceous. Petiole, stout. Midrib very 

 stout proximad, becoming attenuatetl in the 

 tip of the leaf. S(>condaries rather stout, about 

 eight opposite to altermite pairs; they diverge 

 from the midrib at angles of 10° to 30° and 

 pursue a rather straight, ascending, unbranched 

 course; the basal two or three i)airs are camp- 



' linger, Franz, Genera et species plantarum fossilium, p. 443, 1850. 

 ^Schiuiper, W. 1'., Pal^ontologie v<Sg(5taIo, vol. 3, p. ^50, 1S74. 



