ITMBELLALES. 



329 



late, the two lateral lolx's in<H[uiliitcr;iJ, the 

 median lobes narrowed at the base. Petiol(> 

 stout. Primaries three, siiprabasilar, diverg- 

 ing at angles of alioiit ■30'' to oo°. Seeondaries 

 thin, mostly immei-sed, their tips united by liat 

 camptoch'ome arches. 'IVrtiaries obsolete. 



1'liis species was described by Ileer from t1i(> 

 Tertiary of I'nartok, western (ire(>nland, and 

 among otb.er forms eom])ared wifii Aralia 

 primic/ema De la Harjie, wliich occurs at Monte 

 Bolca, Italy, and Alum Bay, I'^ngland. Heer 

 considered the Ai'ctic plant-bearing beds to be 

 of Mioc(>ne age, but, as showni by Gardiner and 

 Saporta and now generally admitted, they are 

 of middle or up])er Eocene age. The occm-- 

 rence of tliis species in MLssissippi is cjueried, 

 since it is unfortunately ])ased on a single in- 

 complete specimen, which, however, agrec^s 

 closely with the form from Greenland and is 

 almost certainly that species. 



Of much interest in the present connection 

 is the resemblance of this species to forms 

 occuiTing in the Dakota sandstone of the West 

 and the Woodbine sand of Texas and described 

 as StercuUa luguhris Lesquereu.x. It would 

 seem that Aralia jorgenseni Ileer is a descend- 

 ant of Stercvlia luguhns, and the difference in 

 age between the Wilcox and the Tertiaiy of 

 western Greenland would measure the interval 

 of time that was occupied by this species in its 

 northward migration during Eocene time. 



Occurrence. — Grenada formation, Grenada, 

 Grenada Coimty, Miss, (collected by E. N. 

 Lowe and E. W. Berry). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Genus OREOPANAX Decaisne and Planchon. 



Oreopanax oxfordensis Berrj', n. sji. 



Plate XCVIII, iiguros l-o. 



Description. — Leaves large, digitately com- 

 pound. Leaflets three to seven, radiating in a 

 more or less p(?ltate manner from the apex of 

 a long stout petiole about 15 centimeters in 

 length and about 4 millimeters in diameter, 

 onlargt^d at the base antl ai)ex. Leaflets ovate- 

 lanceolate in outline, many of them falcate, 

 differing in numl^er, size, and relative width. 

 They range from 7 to 1 1 (;entimeters in length 

 and from 1 to 3 centimeters in ma.ximum 

 wi(hh in the basal half of the leaflet. Apex 

 gradually narrowed and more or less obtusely 

 pointed. Base rounded to narrowly cuneate, 



more or less fuU and as a rule somewliat 

 ine([uilat<'ral. Margins varia])lc, in some speci- 

 mens entire and slightly unthilate, hut s<'rrate- 

 toothed in most of the sjx'cimens colh'cted. 

 'I'lie margins of the serrate-tootlied specimens 

 arc enlirc helow upward to or beyond the ])oint 

 of greatest widtii of the lealiet, and then iri-egu- 

 larly spaced and moi'c or less distant serrate 

 teeth app(>ar, separated by roun(h'(l opcji 

 incHiuila.tei'al sinuses for the I'est of the distance 

 to tlu^ apex. In other sjMH-imens the mai'gins 

 ■M-v cnlii'c more tiian halfway to the ai)c\ and 

 bear scattered teeth distad, and in still other 

 sp(>cimens the teeth are relatively numerous 

 ncaiiy d<i\\n (o tlie l)ase. Leaflets petiolulat(\ 

 Pcliolulcs stout, chanm'led, turgid at the 

 ])oi]it of attachment, 1 to 2 centimeters in 

 length. Mi(h'ib stout, more or less curved. 

 Secmidaries tliin: about seven subopposite to 

 alternate pairs liranching from the mich-ili at 

 angles of aijout 4.5° and sw^eeping upward in 

 broad even curves, eventually camptodronK^, 

 sending short branches into the marginal teeth. 

 Tertiaries ol)solcte. Texture coriaceous. 



This remarkal)ly handsome species is clearly 

 distinct frt)m any hitherto known outside of the 

 existing flora. Its general proportions are well 

 shown in the accompanying drawing (fig. 16), 

 which is a greatly reduced restoration of a com- 

 plete leaf of tliis form. No part of this restora- 

 tion is conjectural, however, for though the 

 actual fossil material is fragmentary it is very 

 abundant and all parts of the large compound 

 leaves are represented by actual specimens, 

 some of the more complete of which are rei^ro- 

 duced from photographs in Plate XCVIII. A 

 fragment from Benton, Ark., is somewhat 

 doubtfully identified as this species. 



This species belongs to the section Digitatie 

 of Harms, which embraces several existmg 

 species of the uplands of Mexico and Central 

 America, and is especially close to Oreopanax 

 xalapensis (Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth) 

 Decaisne of Mexico and also to Oreoparmx, 

 tauhertianus Doimell Smith of the moimtams of 

 Guatemala, which is almost identical with the 

 fossil form and has leaves composed of different- 

 siz<'d leaflets that may be entu'e margmed or 

 toothed. The leaves range somewhat larger 

 than the Wilcox species and the leaflets are 

 relatively wider. With the exception of 

 these slight variations the similarity between 

 the Eocene and the modern species is most 



