230 



LOWER EOCEXE FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



as well as those of sovcral previously described 

 Tertiary species, for example, tiie pods which 

 Heer refers to the widespread Cassia berenices 

 Unger.' Though the similarity of foliage and 

 fruit among the numerous existing species of 

 this very large genus renders detailed com- 

 parisons of less value than in other genera, the 

 similarity of the present species to the pods of 

 the existing Cassia apouconita. Aublet is, 

 however, worth pointing out. Cassia apou- 

 conita ranges from Rio de Janeiro northward 

 to the Caribbean Sea in tropical South America; 

 and its pods, its size, shape, margin, veining, 

 and the like are practically identical with 

 Cassia ientonensis. 



Occurrence. — WUcox group, Benton, Salme 

 County, Ark. (collected by R. E. CaU). Bods 

 of Wilcox age, Calaveras Creek, Wilson County, 

 Tex. (collected by Alexander Deussen). 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



Cassia puryearensis Bony, n. sp. 



Plate LI, figures 13 and 14. 



Description. — Leaflets relatively large, equi- 

 lateral and petiolulate, ovate-lanceolate in 

 general outline; the tip gi'adually narrowed, 

 extended, and acuminate and the base cmieate 

 or shghtly deciu-rent. Length about 8 centi- 

 meters. Maximum width, in the lower haK of 

 the leaflet, about 2.4 centimeters. Margins 

 entire, full below and regularly curved. Leaf 

 substance of medium thickness and smooth 

 surface, not coriaceous. Petiolide stout, about 

 4 mUlimetersin length. Midrib stout, straight , 

 prominent on the lower surface of the leaflet. 

 Secondaries thin, more or less immersed in the 

 lamina; eight to ten pairs diverge from the 

 midrib at angles of 4.5° to .5.5°, curving regu- 

 larly upward in a subparallel manner and camp- 

 todrome. Tertiaries obsolete. 



This species is clearly distinct from tiie con- 

 temporaneous species of Cassia, chfl'ering in 

 its larger size, its ovate-lanceolate outUne, and 

 extended acumen. It is very similar to several 

 species of Cassia of the European Tertiary, 

 such as Cassia berenices Unger, and it is also 

 practically indistinguishable from several ex- 

 isting species, for example. Cassia Ixmgata 

 Willdenow, Cassia corymbosa Lamarck, and 

 other species of Central and South America. 

 Among antecedent forms it is remarkably close 



■ lleer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 3, pi. 137, flg. 56, 1859. 



to several Up]ier Cretaceous species, such as 

 Cassia vaugltani Berry, which is common in the 

 lower Tuscaloosa flora of western Alabama. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds 

 of Wilcox age), Pmyear, Henry Coimty, Tenu. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry). 



Collection. — U. S. NatiomJ Museum. 



Cassia wilcoxiaxa Berry, n. sp. 



Plate L, figures 2-5. 



Description. — Leaves compound. Leaflets 

 sessile. ovate-eUiptical in outline, the apex 

 l)roadly rounded, in some specimens slightly 

 emarginate, and the base Ijluntly pointed. 

 Length about 5. .5 centimetei"s. Maximum 

 width, in the middle part of the leaflets, 2 

 centimeters. Margins entire, shghtly wavy 

 in some specimens. Midrib stout. Second- 

 aries thin, about nhie alternate to oppt)site 

 paire. They branch from the michib at angles 

 of 50° to 55°; their coui-se is rather straight at 

 first, but toward the margin they curve up- 

 ward m broad camptochome arches. Ter- 

 tiaries thin, arched along the margm, inter- 

 nally forming large four or five sided open 

 meshes. Pods smaU, eUiptical and flat, about 

 3 centimeters or shghtly less in length by 1.2 

 or L.3 centimetei-s in maximum width, rounded 

 at both ends, the distal end more broadly 

 roimded. The pods show oblicjue tliin sub- 

 parallel anastomosing curved veins and were 

 few seeded. 



These leaves and pods are characteristically 

 those of some species of Cassia. They were 

 not found in organic union, however, and ara 

 described under a single specific name since 

 they are commonly found associated. A 

 comparison with the modern forms of Cassia 

 has resulted in the restoration showai in figure 

 13. The leaf arrangement is after that of the 

 existing Cassia tora Linne and the arrangement 

 of the pods is like that of the existing Cassia 

 acutifolia, Delpino. These characters do not 

 indicate any especiaUy close fihation, for the 

 leaf and fruiting characters are very similar 

 throughout the vast number of existing forms, 

 which embrace between 300 and 400 herbs, 

 shrubs, and ti'ees, found on all the continents 

 in the warmer temperate and tropical zones, 

 and especially abundant in tropiciil America. 

 The leaflets in the present species are considered 

 to have been in three pairs, hence the leaves 

 were evenly pinnate and probably alternate. 



