19I4-] SOUTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 179 



Two genera of Caesalpiniacese which I confidently expected to 

 find in the Wilcox and which must have been present during this 

 time in southeastern North America are Hymencua and Bauhinia. 

 The former is confined to the American tropics in the existing flora 

 where it has about eight species. It is represented by characteristic 

 forms in the Upper Cretaceous of Alabama. The genus Bauhinia 

 which has about 150 existing species of the tropics of both hemi- 

 spheres has several especially characteristic forms in the Upper Cre- 

 taceous of southeastern North America (New Jersey, Alary land, 

 Alabama). 



The family Papilionaceae which comprises over two thirds of the 

 existing Leguminosa? undoubtedly represents the culmination of 

 evolution in the alliance. The bulk of the family, especially the 

 numerous herbaceous genera, are unquestionably of comparatively 

 recent origin. In spite of this fact the family has twenty species 

 in the Wilcox. These are distributed among six genera, of which 

 Dalbergitcs, Carpolithus and Leguminosites are form-genera, while 

 the other three are still existing. The largest genus is Sophora with 

 seven species, one of which, evidently a strand type similar to and 

 comparable in habitat with the cosmopolitan strand plant Sophora 

 tomcntosa Linne of the existing tropical flora, is very abundant in 

 the Wilcox deposits. There are about 25 existing species of shrubs 

 and small trees referred to this genus. They are scattered over the 

 warmer parts of both hemispheres and are found on all tropical sea- 

 shores. About a dozen fossil species are known. In addition to 

 North America they are found in both Europe and Asia during the 

 Eocene, a single form from Alum Bay (Ypresian) being contem- 

 poraneous with the Wilcox species and the others being later. While 

 few species have been described the genus is widely distributed in 

 the European Miocene where Sophora europcca Unger was a com- 

 mon coastal form of the Mediterranean region throughout the Mio- 

 cene and into the Pliocene. 



Four species, three based on leaflets and the fourth on a charac- 

 teristic pod, represent the genus Dalbergia in the Wilcox flora. Two 

 additional species whose generic relations are not so certain are re- 

 ferred to the genus Dalbergitcs. The existing species of Dalbergia 



