348 



LOWER EOCENE FLORAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



ous leaves of this species tlic fossil is nenrcr to 

 the average form of tlie existing species than to 

 any of its variants. It agrees rather closely 

 in size, outline, and venation with this mean 

 form, hut is relatively slightly nan-ower. 



A characteristic view showing the habit and 

 habitat of the black mangrove anil serving to 

 suggest the appearance and enviroimieut of 

 the Wilcox form is shown on Platen VII, B 

 (p. 177). 



Occurrence. — Holly Springs santl, I'^arly 

 Grove, Marehall County, Miss, (collected by 

 E. AV. Berry). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Family SOLANACEffi. 



Genus SOLANITES Saporta. 



SoLANiTES SAPORTANA Berry, n. sp. 



Plate CVI, figures 4 and 5. 



Description. — Flower gamopetalous. Calyx 

 inferior, gamosepalous. Corolla rotate, de- 

 pressed internally to form a short open throat, 

 the limb five parted, the lobes narrow and cu- 

 neate pointed, sejiarated by relatively deep 

 angular sinuses. There are traces of stamens, 

 which appear to have-been five in number, in- 

 serted on the corolla, and alternate with the 

 corolla lobes, their anthers not connate. Pistil 

 not discernible. The flower is small, aV)out 6 

 or 7 millimeters across the limb. The corolla 

 lobes are about 2.5 millimeters in length and 

 1.75 millimeters in maximum width, at their 

 base. The flowers, wliich must have been of 

 considerable consistency, are preserved close 

 together in the type and only specimen, whicli 

 may be taken to indicate that the flowers 

 were not solitary but grouped in a cymoso 

 inflorescence. 



This unique specimen was collected from the 

 fine-grained plastic claj-s at Holly Springs, and 

 though exceptional as the imprint of a flower 

 the essential organs are flattened and incom- 

 plete. A canvass of tlie floral structures of the 

 natural orders leads at onoe to the Solanaceje, 

 and since it is impossible to allocate the flower 

 with precision in any of tli(^ numerous genera 

 of this family it is referred to the form genus 

 Solanites. This genus was described by Sa- 

 porta ' for floral remains of small size and rare 

 occurrence in the Sannoisian of Ai.x, in south- 

 eastern France, which he constituted as the 



' Saporta, G. de, Etudes sur la vi-'gi^tation du sud-est de la Franco S, 

 I'dpoque tertiaire, vol. 1, p. 109, ISO.'). 



single species Solanlfts hrongniarti.- This he 

 compared in a most painstaking M-ay with tlie 

 flowers of certain existing .Solanaceic and con- 

 cluded that it was most similar to the flowers 

 in the genus Saracha Ruiz and Pavon of Central 

 Ameri(;a and northwestern .South America. 

 This also seems to be true of the Wilcox flower 

 described above, which is very simUar to Solan- 

 ites hrongniarti, although less completely pre- 

 served. I have reproduced some of the figures 

 of the type of Solanites, as well as of SaiTacha 

 and Witheringia, and have named the Ameri- 

 can species in honor of the Count de Saporta, 

 one of the most profound students of fossil 

 floras who graces the annals of paleobotany. 



The genus Sarracha comprises about a dozen 

 species of existing plants distributed from 

 Mexico to Bolivia. In this connection atten- 

 tion should be called to a form from the Ter- 

 tiary of Bolivia described by Engelhardt ^ as 

 AntholUhes quinquepartita, which is very similar 

 to the Wilcox form and should probably be 

 considered as congeneric. 



Occurrence. — Holly Springs sand, Holly 

 Springs, Marshall County, Miss, (collected by 

 E. W. BeiTy). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Order KUBIALES. 



Family RUBIACE.S;. 



Genus GUETTARDA Endlicher. 



GuETTARDA ELLiPTiciFOLiA Berrv, n. sp. 



Plate CVI, figures 1 and 2. 



Description. — Leaves mediuni sized or sniull, 

 more or less broadly ovate and generally 

 falcate in outline. The apex has a short wide 

 point or is narrowly rounded. Base generally 

 inequilateral, Ijroadly cuneate, or slightly de- 

 current. Length ranges from 4 to 6 centi- 

 meters. Maximum width, in the middle part 

 of the leaf, ranges from 2 to 2.5 centimeters. 

 Margins entire, irregularly imdulate in many 

 specimens. Texture subcoriaceous. Petiole 

 stout, curved, about 5 miUiineters in length. 

 Midrib stout, curved, i)rominent on the lower 

 surface of the leaf. Secondaries stout: seven 

 or eight opposite to alternate pairs diverge 

 from the midrib at angles of 45° to 50°, pursii- 



= Idcm, pi. n, fig. 2. 



3EngeIhLirdt, Hermann, Naturwiss. Gesell. Isis in Dresden .Vbh., 

 1894, p. i:i, pi. 1, fig. 67. 



