KHAMNALES. 



279 



American species. Fur exam])le, Z,'izijphw^ 

 napica from Java is fuUy as large if not larger, 

 its basal and marginal characters are identi- 

 cal, and a few individuals have a somewhat 

 produced tip. As a rule, however, the tip is 

 not extended and tlie jirimaries are strictly 

 aerodrome. 



Zizyphus meigsii (Lesquereux) is a luemher 

 of the lower Eocene (loi-a of nortlieastern New 

 Mexico (Raton formation). 



Occurrence. — Ackerman formation, Cole- 

 mans Mill, Choctaw County, Miss, (collected 

 by E. W. Hilgard). Holly Springs sand, 

 ravine at Oxford, Lafayette County, Miss, 

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

 tion (in beds of '\Vik\)X age), H miles west of 

 Grand Junction in Fayette County, Tenn. 

 (collected by L. C. Glenn and E. W. Berry): La 

 Grange, Fayette County, Tenn. (collected by 

 J. M. Safford): and Puryear, Henry County, 

 Tenn. (collected by E. W. Berry). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Genus PALIURUS Jussieu. 



Paliurus mississippiexsis Berry, n. sp. 

 Plate LXXI, figure 4^ 



Description. — Winged fruits, (>rl)icular anil 

 disklike in outline, the wing thick, somewhat 

 reticulately wrinlvled, and entire niargined, 

 and tlie central seed cavity thickened. 



The fruits of this species range in size from 

 1 centimeter to 1.4 centimeters in diameter. 

 The specimen figured represents the maximum 

 size. It was found in a lignitized condition in 

 the clays near Early Grove, Miss., in 1SS9 by 

 W J McGee and l)y him deposited in the 

 U. S. National Museum (No. 3460). When I 

 took up the study of the flora these materials 

 were turned over to me. At that time the 

 single specimen had suffered much from drying 

 and had been broken, but all the parts were 

 intact and a drawing was maik' of them. Sub- 

 sequently part of the specimen was lost. 



Two or three specimens of the same species 



occur in the clays at Holly Springs. Tliey are 



t slightly smaller than the form from Early 



Grove but are othenvise identical with it, 



although they are not especially well preservetl. 



The genus Paliurus is represented in the 

 modern flora by but two s]iecies — Paliurus 

 aculeatus Lamarck, which ranges tlu-ough 

 southern Europe and Asia lo .Japan, and 



Paliurus rainossimus Poiret of China and Japan. 

 About 30 fossil species are known and these 

 are based for the most part on leaves. They 

 range in age from the middle Cretaceous to 

 tlie present and are abundant in Nortli Amer- 

 ica, (extending noi'tiiward as far as western 

 (ireenland, according to Hcer. In the absence 

 of tlie cliaracteristie fruits the leaves alone are 

 hkely to be confused vdth the closely allied 

 genus Zizyphus or even with Ceanothus or 

 with certain species of Rhamnus. 



The fruits are unmistakable, however, and 

 have l)een recoriU'd for several Euroj)ean 

 species ranging fr()m the upper Eocene to the 

 Miocene. The present specimens compris(>, 

 so far as known, the first records of fruits of 

 Paliurus from Noi'th America anil are there- 

 fore of interest as collateral ])r()of of tlu^ correct 

 identilication of some of the species from tliis 

 continent l>ased on foliage alone. They are 

 also of interest in that they occur in thelowiu" 

 Eocene, the earliest horizon in which fruits have 

 thus far lieeii found. 



These fruits are somewhat smaller than 

 tliose of the existing s|)ecies, although larger 

 than the fossil fruits of this genus from the 

 European Tertiary, which include Paliurus 

 thufitianiti He-iir'- from the Miocene, which is 

 smaller and has a erenate margin; Paliurus 

 tenuifolius Heer,- very similar to the American 

 form but smaller; Paliurus litigiosus Saporta,^ 

 an Oligocene species, wliich also bore smaller 

 fruits; and Paliurvsfavonii Unger,* a very sim- 

 ilar but smaller Miocene species. 



Loaves which liave been referred to several 

 species of Paliurus occur in the Wilcox deposits. 

 One of these leaves is rather sparingly asso- 

 ciated with the fruits at the Holly Springs 

 locality. The evidence of identity is uncer- 

 tain, however, and the two are discussed 

 separately. A restoration of the fruits and the 

 leaves associated with them is shown in 

 figure 14 (p. 2N1). 



Occurrence. — Holly Springs sand. Early 

 Grove, Marshall County, Miss, (figured speci- 

 men collectinl 1)\- W J McGee; additional speci- 

 mens coUiH'ti^d ]\y E. W. Berry), and Holly 



' Ueer, Oswald, Flora Wrtiaria Helvethc, vol. 3, p. 7i;, jil. 122, figs. 

 27-2'J, l.s,M. 



2 Idem, fig. 31. 



3 Saporta, O. de, Etudes siu' la v^gt'-tation du sud-est de la France a 

 I'l'-poque lertiaire, vol. 1, p. 177, pi. 2, figs. 4a, b, b', istjli. 



' Viiger, Franz, ChlorLs protoj;:pa, p. U7, pi. 50, figs. G-S, 1841-1S47; also 

 Ettingshausen, C. von, Die fossile Flora des Teriiiir-Beckens von liilin, 

 pt. 3, p. 39, pi. 50, figs. 6, 7, 1S69. 



