304 



LOWER ICOCr.XE FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH A^rERICA. 



stout, especiiilJy proximad, flattcnocl rather 

 than prominent on lower sui-face of the loaf, 

 more or less curved. Secondaries chstant, 

 about 10 or 12 subopposite to alternate ])airs, 

 rather stout: the basal pair, which nre sub- 

 opposite, form an<.rles of 25° to 30° with the 

 niidrib about 2 centimetei-s above its base, 

 ascending in broad regular curves, campto- 

 drome. Secondaries above the basal pair 

 more or less regularly spaced at intervals of 

 about 2 centuneters, subtendmg angles of 

 about 40°, the angle increasing somewhat in 

 the upper part of the leaf, camptodrome, be- 

 coming fine and arching along the margin for 

 considerable distances in all but the apical 

 portion of the leaf. The interval between the 

 basal and the next succeeding pair of second- 

 aries may be much greater than lietween nor- 

 mal succeedmg pairs, givmg the leaves a tri- 

 veined, Cinnamomum-like appearance; or all 

 the secondaries maj' be normally spaced; or 

 one of the basal secondaries ma}' be ascendmg 

 and subtend a longer interval, as in one of the 

 specimens figured. Tertiary venation fine, 

 typically lauraceous, and visible with gi-eat 

 distinctness with magnification. 



This large and strikmg species is distinct 

 among the numerous lauraceous forms of the 

 Wilcox flora and is readily recognized by its 

 characteristic outline. The leaves were punc- 

 tate and as preserved the texture is character- 

 istic and suggests that the lower surface was 

 tomentose. The most similar associated spe- 

 cies is Nectandra glenni Berry, described from 

 the clays of Wilcox age near Grand Junction, 

 Tenn.. which has a more gradually narrowed 

 apex and base, giving the leaf a much more 

 symmetrical appearance, and fewer and more 

 ascending secondaries. 



Among described species from western iVnier- 

 ican Tertiary localities, there are none espe- 

 cially close to the present type. It is, how- 

 ever, much like Litsxa expansa, described by 

 Saporta and Marion ' from the Paleocene 

 (marnes heersiemies) of Belgium, which has, 

 however, a more extended tip and a more 

 broadly cuneate base. It may also be com- 

 pared with Laurvs attennata, described by 

 Watelet- from the Ypresian of the Paris Basin. 



1 Saporta, G. de, and Marion, A. F., Revision de la flore heer-sionno de 

 Gelinden.p. 68, pi. U.flgs. 1,2, 1878. 



- Walclet, A., Description dcs plant«s tossilos du bassin de Paris, p. 187, 

 pi. 52, QgS. 3, 4, 1866. 



Numerous existing species of tlic American 

 Tropics and subtropics in this and allied genera 

 approacli closely to this type. In fact, though 

 lliere may be differences among students of 

 fossil floras, as there are among students of the 

 existing flora regarding the proper generic 

 limits of tlie genera of the Lauracese, no one 

 can dispute the correctness of the family refer- 

 ence of these Wilcox species. The present 

 species is very similar to the larger-leafed 

 forms of the existing Persea jmbescens (Pursh) 

 Sargent ^ so conunon in our Southern States 

 in low wet places m the Coastal Plain. I have 

 also seen unnamed specimens of Ocotea (Oreo- 

 daplme) from New Grenada identical with it. 



Among the collections of fossil plants ac- 

 cumulated by the j\j"kansas Geological Survey 

 under Dr. J. C. Branner and turned over to 

 the. United States National Museum, there is a 

 nearly complete leaf of Oreodaphne missis- 

 sippiensis, which was obtained in digging a 

 shallow well near Texarkana and bears the 

 designation Persea sp. in Prof. Ward's hand- 

 writing. (U. S. Nat. Mus. Accession No. 8608.) 

 The species is also represented by fragmentary 

 specimens collected by A. C. Veatch for the 

 Louisiana Geological Survey at Coushatta, in 

 Red River Parish, and now in the collections 

 of the New York Botanical Garden. The 

 largest of the two forms figured by Hollick as 

 Laurus pfiinif/enia represents one of these 

 specimens. Among the lauraceous forms of 

 the Upper Cretaceous in this area the present 

 species is somewhat similar to Oreodaphne 

 alabamensis Berry, which is abmidant in the 

 lower part of the Tuscaloosa formation of 

 northwestern jVlabama and also occurs in the 

 Woodbine sand of Lamar County, Tex. 



Occvrrence. — HoUy Springs sand, near HoUy 

 Sprhigs, Marshall County, Miss, (collected bj- 

 E. W. Berry), and 2 miles north of Lockhart, 

 Lauderdale County, Miss. Wilcox group, one- 

 fourth mile above Coushatta, Red River Par- 

 ish, La. (collected by A. C. Veatch); Shrcve- 

 port, Caddo Parish, La. (collected by O. B. 

 Hopkins) ; 4^ miles and 5 miles southeast and 

 2 miles south of Naborton, De Soto Parish, La. 

 (collected by G. C. Matson and O. B. Hopkins) ; 

 and from a well near Texarkana, Miller County, 

 Ark. (U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 8608). 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



sSargent, C. S., Silva of North America, vol. 7, pi. 302, 1895. 



