200 BERRY— LOWER EOCENE FLORA OF [April 25, 



The remaining genus known in the fossil state, Eitoiiymiis Linne, 

 has about sixty existing species widely distributed throughout the 

 northern hemisphere but most numerous in the Asiatic tropics and in 

 China and Japan. Upwards of thirty fossil species are known, being 

 based upon both fruits and leaves. There are four well-marked 

 Eocene species all of which are confined to North America where 

 they are represented in West Greenland, in the Fort Union and 

 Green River beds of the Rocky Mountain region, and in the Wilcox 

 of the Mississippi embayment. The species of the latter region is a 

 very abundant and characteristic form. There are four or five 

 Oligocene species of Euonymus recorded from Bavaria, the Tyrol 

 and Bohemia. The twelve Miocene species occur in France, Prussia, 

 Bohemia, Styria, Croatia, and Hungary. There are four Pliocene 

 species in Germany, Italy, and Slavonia ; and two still existing species 

 occur in the Pleistocene of France. 



From this very brief survey of the fossil history of the Celas- 

 tracea? it is seen that there is a probability, similar to that shown by 

 so many other families of Dicotyledons, that the ancestral stock 

 originated in the western hemisphere. 



The family Sapindaces consists of about 118 genera and over one 

 thousand existing species of trees or shrubs with alternate, pinnate, 

 exstipulate, persistent, or deciduous leaves and drupaceous or cap- 

 sular fruits with crustaceous mostly solitary seeds. About one third 

 of the genera are lianas. Most of the family is confined to tropical 

 and subtropical regions and about 23 per cent, of the genera (27) 

 and 34 per cent, of the species (345) are confined to America. 

 There are more genera (30) confined to the African region but only 

 about one fifth as many species (75). 



The genera Cardiospermum, Schmidelia (Allophylus) and Sapin- 

 dus are found in all tropical countries. The genus Paullinia with 

 over 120 existing species while mostly American is present in Africa 

 and Madagascar. The genus Dodomca with over 40 species in Aus- 

 tralia has one or two forms found in all tropical countries and a 

 single species in the Hawaiian Islands and Madagascar. Harpullia 

 is common to Asia, Africa and Australia. There arc two genera 

 with about fifteen species confined to Australia, four genera with 66 

 species ranging from Asia to Australia, to genera with 22 species 



