306 



LOWER EOCENE FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



the base pointed and the tip gi-adually nar- 

 rowed, elongated, and acuminate. Length 

 about 10 centimeters. Maximum width, in the 

 basal half of the leaf, about 2.5 ceutimetei-s. 

 Margins entire, shghtly undulate iu the upper 

 part. Texture coriaceous. Petiole long and 

 stout, slightly curved, longitudinally striated, 

 about 2.5 centimetei-s in length. Mich-ib stout, 

 becoming thin distad, prominent on the lower 

 surface of the leaf. Secondaries thin, about 10 

 subopposite to alternate pairs, somewhat u- 

 regularly spaced, diverging from tlie midrib at 

 angles of about 45° or less, curving regularly 

 upward and camptoch'ome. Tcrtiaries rela- 

 tively stout, forming a typically lauraceous 

 areolation, which is, however, nearly obsolete 

 by immersion in the substance of the lamina. 

 This species resembles a number of Wilcox 

 species of Lauracea? referred to the genera 

 Oreodaphne, Mespilodaphne, and Nectandra 

 but is entirely distinct. It is something like 

 Oreodaphne pseudoguianensis Berry in outhne 

 but is more ovate, the secondaries are more 

 numerous, and the venation is finer. It is also 

 more ovate in form than Oreodaphne salinensis 

 Berry and lacks the lateral pseudoprimaries 

 of that species. It is very much narrower and 

 more elongated than Mespilodaphne pseudo- 

 glauca Berry or Mespilodaphne conshatta Berry 

 but is more ovate than Mespilodaphne eolig- 

 nitica Berry and the venation is much finer. 

 The species of Nectandra are not close enough 

 to occasion any confusion. 



In the modern flora of tropical and sub- 

 tropical America a number of forms in all three 

 genera are closely comparable with the present 

 species. 



It does not appear to have been common in 

 the Wilcox flora. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds of 

 Wilcox age), Puryear, Hemy County, Tenn. 

 (coUected by E. W. Berry). 



Collection.— \]. S. National Museum. 



Mespilodaphne pseudoglauca Ben-y, n.sp. 



Plate LXXX, figure 4. 



Lauras soeialia. Le.squereu.x, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc, vol. 



11, p. 24, 1888. 

 Laurus cali/ornica. Lesquereux (not Lesquereux, 1883), 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc, vol. 11, p. 12, pi. 4, fig. 1, 

 1888. 

 Loughridge, Report on the geological and economic 

 features of the Jackson's purchase region, p. 198, 1888. 



Description. — Leaves medium sized, broadly 

 ovate-lanceolate in outhne. Apex somewhat 



proihiced to form a narrow acumuiate lip. 

 Base narrowly cuneate. Length ranges from 

 9 to 1 1 centimeters. Maximum width, ranging 

 from -i to 5 centimctei-s, midway between the 

 apex and the bjusc. Margins enth-e. Texture 

 coriaceous. Petiole short, stout, and cm-ved, 

 about 9 millimeters in length. Midrib stout, 

 more or less curved, prominent on the lower 

 surface of the leaf. Secondaries rather stout, 

 six or seven pairs, irregularly spaced, diverging 

 from the midrib at angles ranging from more 

 than 55° in the upper part of the leaf to 35° in 

 the lower part, the basal pairs tending to as- 

 sume a course parallel with the lower lateral 

 leaf margins, aU curved and camptocbome. 

 Tertiaries thin, forming open polygonal, typi- 

 cally lauraceous meshes. 



This species resembles a number of existing 

 as weU as fossil LauracesB that are referred to 

 several genera, being closest to certain existing 

 species of Ocotea of the section Mespilodapline 

 Nees, often and properly segregated as a distinct 

 genus. Willi the exception of 8 or 9 African 

 species the remainder of the more than 200 

 existing species referred to Ocotea are natives 

 of tropical and sulitropical America. The most 

 similar existing form is Mespilodaphne glauca 

 of Brazil, which is very close to the fossil in 

 size, outUne, venation, areolation, texture, and 

 the like, the only difference being the slightly 

 blunter apical acumen of the modern leaf. 



A spechnen of this species, collected by R. H. 

 Louglu-idge near Boaz, Ky., was identified by 

 Lesquereux in 1888 with his species Laurus 

 californica from the auriferous gravels of Cali- 

 fornia,' which, though somewhat sunilar, is 

 entirely distmct. For one thing its secondaries 

 are much fewer, and there are numerous other 

 differences. A small leaf of this species from 

 Campbell's quarry, m Louisiana, was identified 

 by Lesquereux as Laurus socialis Lesquereux, 

 which it only remotely resembles. It is only 

 5 centimeters long and 1.7 centimeters in maxi- 

 mum width, and except for its fewer secondaries 

 is exactly like the normal-sized leaves of this 

 species in form and venation. 



Occurrence. — Wilcox group, Campbell's 

 quarry. Cross Bayou, Caddo Parish, La. (col- 

 lected by L. C. Johnson), and 2 miles south 

 of Naborton, Do Soto Parish, La. (coflected 

 by O. B. Hopkins). Holly Springs sand, 



1 Lesquereux, Leo, The Cretaceous and Tertiary floras, p. 252, pi. 57, 

 flg. 3; pi. 58, figs. 6-8, 1883. 



