MVKTALES. 



321 



Genus COMBRETIJM Linne. 



CoMiiRETtTjr ovAi.is (L('sc[ii('r(>iix") Berry. 



Plates XCIII, fisrure 1. and XCIV. figure 1. 



Magnolia ovalis. Lesqueroux, Am. Philos. Soe. Trans., 



vol. i:i, p. •122, pi. 21, iigs. 3, 4, 18(i9. 

 Knowlton, Am. Geologist, vol. 16, p. 308, 1895. 

 Magnolia cordi/olia. Lesquercux, Am. Philo.s. Soc. 



Trans., vol. 13, p. 422, pi. 22, figs. 1, 2, 1SG9. 



Description. — Leaves relatively large, elli]i(i- 

 Ciil or orbiculiir in jjjeueral oiitliiu\ the apex 

 hroadly I'oiiiuleil or Mimtly pointed, tiie base 

 very l)roa(ily rouuded or truueate. Length 

 ranges from 12 to 15 centimeters. Maximum 

 width, in tlie middle part of the leaf, ranges 

 from 5.5 to 12 centimeters, averaging al)out 9 

 centimeters. Marghis (Mitire, full, and lather 

 evenly rounded. Leaf substance thin bul a])- 

 parcntty subcoriaceous. Petiole ver}- stout 

 and cin-ved, not pn^served for its full length in 

 any of the mati^rial. Midril) very stout, 

 curved; if prominejit m life it has been flat- 

 tened durmg fossilization, but the fact that it is 

 longitudinally channeled favors the supposition 

 tliat it was more or less prominent, the lines 

 beuig due to collapse caused by pressure. 

 Secondaries relatively thin, not promitient, 

 their spacmg variable, in general rather i-emote; 

 they branch from th(^ mich-il) at angles of 45° or 

 more, pursue a n^gularly curved subparallel 

 course, and are camptodromo m the marginal 

 region. There are usualty about eight suboppo- 

 site to alternates pairs. Tertiary venation en- 

 tirely obsolete. 



These leaves exhibit considerable variation in 

 outlme and most of them are conspicuously 

 inequilateral; the lamina of one of the larger 

 specimens has an extrenn? width of 8.5 centi- 

 meters on one side and only 4 centimeters on the 

 other side. The apex may be broadly rounded 

 or slightly extended; I doubt if it was ever 

 pointed. The large specimen illustrated by 

 Lcsquereux as Magnolia cordlfolia in his figure 1 

 apparently termmated in a point, but by chip- 

 ping away more of the matrix in the typ<? speci- 

 men it was found tliat the distal margin was 

 abruptly rounded off. 



Tlie material on which the present species is 

 established formed the basis for two species 

 tliat were referred l)y Lcsquereux to the genus 

 Magnolia, although he states that they are 

 unlike any true Magnolias known to him. In 

 this he is entirelv correct. There is considcrr- 



able variation in the material l)ut Jio l)asis for 

 six'cific segregation, and tins variable a])ex, 

 iiu'(]uilat('ral form, obsolete tertiaries, and thui 

 texture, are all characters unlike Magnolia. 

 On tlie otlier liand tliey afe paralleled in tlie 

 modern genus Conil)retum. Tliis fact, cou])led 

 witii the presence' of lea\'es of Terniinalia hi this 

 flora, characteristic fruits of Terminalia in tltis 

 and in European Eocene flcn-as, leaves, and 

 fruits of Laguneuhiria in tliis flora, a coinbre- 

 taceous flower in tliis flora, and comliretaceous 

 wood (Combretacinium Felix) in the European 

 Eocene flora, all indicate tlie abundance of the 

 ConihretaceiT' in the Eocene and the prevalence 

 of jiliysical conditions unsuited for Magnolia. 

 Leaves of Combretum have lieen described by 

 Massalongo, O. Wel)er, and lleer from the 

 European Tertiary, three species occur in the 

 Wilcox flora, and anotlier m the Claiborne flora. 

 Engelhardt lias described two species from the 

 Tertiary of Chile, and Menzel described a spe- 

 cies of Combretiphyllum from the Oligocene of 

 Bohemia. 



Tlie present species occurs in the Raton for- 

 mation of the Rocky Mountain province and is 

 referred by KJuowlton to Magnolia. 



Occurrence. — Ackerman formation. Hurleys, 

 Benton County (formerly a part of Tippah 

 County), Miss, (collected by E. W. Hilgard). 

 Wilcox group. Old Port Caddo Landuvg, Little 

 Cypress Bayou, Harrison (bounty, Tex. (col- 

 lected by T. W. Vaughan). Lagrange forma- 

 tion (in beds of Wilcox age), 1 mile south of 

 Grand Junction, in Fayette County, Tenn. (col- 

 lected by E. W. Berry). 



Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



Combretum wilcoxensis Berry, n. sp. 



Plate LXXXIX, figures 1 and 2. 



Description. — Leaves medium sized, elliptical 

 in general outline, the tip bluntly pointed and 

 the base cuneate and decurrent. Length ranges 

 from 12 to 15 centimetei-s. Maximum width, 

 in the middle or lower part of the leaf, 6 to 10 

 centimeters. Petiole curved, extremely stout 

 and channeled, between 4 and 5 centimeters in 

 length. Margins entire, conspicuously undu- 

 late and somewhat revolute. Leaf substance 

 thick and coriaceous. Midrib stout, prominent 

 on the lower surface of the, leaf and narrow on 

 the upper surface. Secondaries relatively nar- 

 row on the upper surface. Secondaries rela- 

 tively (not actually) thin; eight or nine subop- 



50243°— 16- 



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