BERRY— LOWER EOCENE FLORA OF [April 25, 



occurrence of a species in the early Tertiary of Chili strongly suggests 

 that the genus is of American origin. This statement as well as the 

 determination of the Wilcox species receives confirmation in the re- 

 markably preserved flower from these beds described as Combretan- 

 thites. Combretum has been recorded from the Miocene of Switzer- 

 land and Germany, and from the Pliocene of Italy. It occurs in the 

 Claiborne group of the Mississippi embayment and Felix has de- 

 scribed petrified wood from the supposed Eocene of the Caucasus 

 which he calls Combretacinium. 



The genus Conocarpus ( rsertner, a member of the tropical man- 

 grove association, has a well marked species in the Wilcox flora 

 which is supposed to be descended from the Conocarpites described 

 fnun the Tuscaloosa formation in this same general region. Another 

 species very close to the modern form of the American tropics oc- 

 cur- in the Claiborne group. Conocarpus fruits have also been de- 

 scribed recently from the Aquitanian of Rhenish Prussia. 



The genus Laguncularia Gsertner, monotypic in the mangrove 

 association of America and the west coast of tropical Africa, is rep- 

 resented by both leaves and fruits in the Wilcox flora. The only 

 other genus of Combretace?e with known fossil representation is 

 Terminalia Linne It is a large genus in the existing flora with over 

 one hundred species almost equally divided between America. Asia, 

 Africa and Australia, several of the species being very wide-ranging 

 littoral types. There are three Wilcox species, based on both leaves 

 and fruit. One of the species makes its appearance in the underly- 

 ing Midway group of the Western Gulf region, possibly representing 

 the beginning of it> extension northward along the coast in the em- 

 bayment region from tropical America. 



Five < Higocene species of Terminalia have been described from 

 Europe, the determination- resting on both leaves and fruits, and the 

 occurences ranging from the Sannoisian to the Chattian and geo- 

 graphically from southeastern France to Greece. There are seven 

 well distributed .Miocene species in Europe, as well as Pliocene 

 specie- in both Spain and Italy along the shores of the Pliocene 

 .Mediterranean Sea. A supposed Pliocene species is also recorded 

 from Bolivia. 



