256 



LOWER EOCEXE FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



Giilf. It may be distiiiguisheil from the asso- 

 ciatcd Banistena wilcoxiaua Berry by its larger 

 size and more broadly rounded base. It is 

 named from its very groat resemblauee to the 

 existing Central American Bairisti ria lauii- 

 JoUa Linne.' The genus comjjrises l)et\veen 70 

 and SO speeies, exclusively American, tlie ma- 

 jority climbing shrubs, and largely developed 

 in tropical South America, being most numer- 

 ous in Brazil. 



Several Tertiary species are known from tlie 

 European area, where they are represented by 

 both tlie foliage and the characteristic fruits. 

 These species, with the exception of Banisteria 

 jitijlnndoides Watelet - from the Ypresian of the 

 Paris Basin, a horizon homotaxial with the 

 Wilcox, are all somewhat younger than the 

 WUcox species, the oldest other species being 

 Banistena vasseun Laurent ^ from the Tong- 

 rian of France, which is somewhat larger than 

 Banistena pseudolaurifolia but is identical in 

 outline and secondary venation, though it dif- 

 fers in its tertiary venation. Another very 

 similar Oligocene species is Banisteria sotzkiana, 

 which is described by Ettmgshausen * from the 

 Styrian lignites and compared with the existing 

 Banistena laurifolia. It is a trifle more slender. 

 and has somewhat more ascending secondaries 

 than the Wilcox form. A third and strictly 

 congeneric form was descriljed by Heer ' from 

 the Aquitanian of Switzerland as Banistena 

 helvetica. It is very similar to tlie present 

 species. There are stiU other fossil species, 

 based on both leaves and fruit. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds of 

 Wilcox age), Puryear, Henry County, Tenn. 

 (coUected liy E. W. Berry) : and WicldifTe, Bal- 

 lard County, Ky. (collected by L. C. Glenn) . 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



Banisteria repandifolia Berry, n. sp. 



Plate LVI, figures 3 and 4. 



Description. — Leaves of medium size, oblong- 

 ovate in general outline. Apex narrowed, 



' Referred to the genus Heteropterys Kunth by Hemsley in his Flora 

 of Central .\nierica (vol, 1, p. 150, 1888). It ranges from southern 

 Mexii-o through the West Indies and Central America to Colombia. 



2\Vatelet, A., Description des plantes fossiles du bassin de Paris,p. 

 226, pi. 50, fig. li, 1S66. 



'Laurent, Louis, Flore des calcaires de C41as, p, 124, pi. 13, figs. 3, t, 

 1899. 



< Ettingshau-sen, C. von, Beitragezur Kcnntnissder fossilen I'loravon 

 Sotzka, p. 68, pi. .3, fig. 5, 1858. 



'llcer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetian, vol. 3, p. 65, pi. 121, fig. .S, 

 1839. 



sharply pointed, generally produced as a nar- 

 row and more or less elongated acumen. Base 

 ])roadly rounded. Length a])out 12 centi- 

 meters. Maximum width, in the middle part of 

 the leaf, 4 to 4. .5 centimeters. Margins entire, 

 more or less strongly repand, and in many speci- 

 mens slightly revolute. Leaf substance thick 

 and coriaceous. Petiole short and stout, e.x- 

 panded and more or less alate, about 1 centi- 

 meter in length and about o millimeters in 

 maximum width, in the middle jiortion. Mid- 

 rib stout and straight, becoming somewhat 

 thinner and curved in the acumen, prominent 

 on the lower surface of the leaf. Secondaries 

 thin, alternate, widely spaced, more or less im- 

 mersetl in the thick leaf substance; 8 to 10 

 pairs diverge from the midrib at angles of about 

 55°. They are irregularly spaced, of varying 

 but mostly sliglit degrees of curvature until the 

 marginal region is reached, where they curve 

 abruptly to form broad camptodrome arches 

 subpar:dlel with the margins. Tertiaries thin 

 but distinct on the lower surface of the leaf, 

 forming marginal camptodrome arches and in- 

 termd, generally (juadrangular meshes. Areo- 

 lation fine, mainly quadrangular. Leaf sub- 

 stance either minutely punctate or scurfy. A 

 small leaf of this sjiecies, measuring 8 centime- 

 ters in length by 3.5 centimeters in maximum 

 width, has a stout, longitudinally striated peti- 

 ole 1.3 centimeters in length. 



Tliis species is not at all like the associated 

 species, Banisteria wllcoxiana Berry, but re- 

 sembles more or less the other Wilcox species, 

 Banisteria pseudolaurifolia Berry. Points of 

 difl'erence are its broadly rounded ]:)ase, peculiar 

 alate petiole, produced tip, subparaUel lateral 

 margins, and textural characters. There is 

 some question whether or not the smaller speci- 

 men figured is identical with the larger speci- 

 men, which is less repand and has its seconda- 

 ries arching farther from the margins. The two 

 specimens may represent distinct but closely 

 related forms. As interpreted they are taken 

 to represent variations of a single species. 



This species is not unlike other and unrelated 

 membei-s of the Wilcox flora, for example Cor- 

 dia eocenica Berry and some of the leaves of 

 Ficus puryearensis Berry. It may be distin- 

 gULshed from both of tlies(> superficially similar 

 species by its more oblong form, peculiar peti- 

 ole, acuminate tip, re])aiid margins, general 

 texture, and details of venation. 



