334 



LOWER EOCKXF. FI.OUAS OF SOUTUEASTEHN XOHTU AJIEEICA. 



by E. W. Berry), and Soincrvilli', Kiiycttc 

 County, Toim. (coUcctod by J. M. Safford). 

 Beds of Wilcox age, Calaveras Creek, Wilsoti 

 County, Tex. (etdleeted by Alexander Deussen). 

 Collections. — U. S. National Museum. 



Diosi>Yni>s wiLcoxiANA lierry, n. sp. 

 Platf (T, fijurps 1 and 2. 



Description. — Leaves luediuin sized to largo, 

 ovate-lanceolate in outline, the lateral margins 

 regularly curved and the apex and base al)out 

 equall}^ pointed. Length ranges from 7.5 to 

 15 centimeters. Maximum width, about mid- 

 wa}' between the apex and the base, ranges 

 from .3.5 to 5.5 centimeters. Margins entire, 

 in places slightly undulate. Texture sub- 

 coriaceous. Petiole short and stout, enlarged 

 proximad; in minimum-sized leaves, in which 

 oidy it seems to be preserved, it is 5 or 6 milli- 

 motei-s long. Mich-ib stout, as a rule more or 

 less curved. Secondaries rather stout, numer- 

 ous, subparallel, camptodrome; from 10 to 15 

 subopposite to alternate pairs branch from 

 the miclrib at angles of 50° to 70° and pursue 

 a rather straight course imtil n(^ar the margin, 

 where they cuiwe upward and form abruptly 

 decreasing arches more or less parallel with it. 

 Tertiary venation relatively prominent. Main 

 nervilles largely percun-ent, the interspaces 

 made up of relatively large four, five, or six 

 sided meshes. 



The two extremes in size of tliis species have 

 been figured. The secondari&s of tlio smaller 

 are loss numerous and more ascending, but 

 the differences observable are not of specific 



value. 



DiospjTOS is an abundant type in fossil 

 floras and ranges back to the middle CVetaceous, 

 from which a variety of leaf species have btx^n 

 described. I recently described an unmistak- 

 able fruit calyx from this horizon under the 

 name Diospyros vera,' so that the affiiiity of 

 the leaves is al)undantly confirmed. A])out 

 50 Tcrtiaiy species have been described from 

 a largo number of locialities and horizons and 

 abundantly fortified by fruiting material.^ 

 The genus is espoc-ially abundant from the 

 upper Eocene tlu-ough the Oligocene of Kuroiie 

 and in the lowcT Eocene of Western America 

 (Fort Union formation). The forms from the 



> Berry, E. W., Torrcy Bot. Club Bull., vol. 38, p. 418, pi. 19, fig. 5, 1911. 

 2 For an account of the geologic history of the genus seo Berry, E. \V., 

 Plant World, vol. 15, pp. 1.5-21, figs. 1-7, 1912. 



Rocky Mountain region which were contem- 

 poraneous witli the present species are all 

 smallcM', rc^adily distinguishalde species. 



The existing sjjecies of Diospyros nundjer 

 more than 150 and an^ witlely distribxited in 

 the Troi)ics and wuriiuvr temperate regions of 

 both hemispheres. vScveral species, for example 

 D. inaritina Linne ami D. tcysmanni Miquel of 

 the East Indies, are ty])ica] strand i>lants. The 

 species now uniler consideration, \\hich is com- 

 mon at Puryear, is very similar to numerous 

 existing forms, including the larger leaves of 

 Diospyros xnrginiana Linne of our Southern 

 States. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds of 

 Wilcox age), Puryear, Henry County, Temi. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry). 



Cdlhciion. — Y'. S. National ^fuseum. 



Family SAPOTACEffi. 

 Genus SIDEROXYLON Linne. 



SiDEROXYLOX ELI.IPTICl'S BeiTV, U. sp. 



Plate C, figures. 



Description. — Leaves relatively large, ellip- 

 tical in general outline. Apex rounded. Base 

 nmded or broadly pointed. Margins entire, ap- 

 pearing to be repand because of their somewhat 

 revolute condition, as is also clearly indicated 

 by the appearance of the venation in that part 

 of the leaf. Petiole short and stout. Midrib 

 stout and curved, prominent on the lower sur- 

 face of the leaf, impressed on the upper surface. 

 Secondaries prominent; about 12 sul)oi)posite 

 to alternate pairs diverge from the midrib at 

 angles of about 60°, pureue a rather straight 

 course at first, and eventually curve upward; 

 camptodrome. Tertiaries thin, forming large 

 five or six sided meshes. Texture coriaceous. 



This fuie large-leafed species is entirely dis- 

 tinct from previously described forms and 

 ratluu- larger tlian most of the existing mem- 

 bei-s of the Sapotacea?. It is, however, prac- 

 tically identical in size, texture, petiole, mar- 

 gin, and venation — primary, secondary, and 

 tertiary — with the existing Sideroxylon suri- 

 namense Miki from ncu-thern South America 

 (Surinam). 



The genus Sideroxylon comprises about 60 

 modern species fi)un<l in the warmer parts of 

 both hemisi)heres, a single Antillean species 

 reaching soutliern ixuiinsular Florida. Several 

 fossil leaves from the Oligocene and Miocene 



