330 



SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1916. 



underlying beds must be accepted, though the 

 WTiter can not escape the impression that they 

 may ultimately be shown to be of Tertiary age. 

 Below is a complete list of the forms repre- 

 sented in the collections from the Fruitlantl 

 and Kirtland formations. 



Asplenium neomexicanum Knowlton, n. sp. 



Onoclea neomexicana Knowlton, n. sp. 



Anemia hesperia Knowlton, n. sp. 



Anemia sp. 



Sequoia reichenbachi (Geinitz i lleer. 



Sequoia obovata? Knowlton. 



Geinitzia formosa Heer. 



Sabal montana Knowlton. 



Sabal? sp. 



Myrica torreyi Lesquereux. 



Myrica? neomexicana Knowlton, n. sp. 



Salix baueri Knowlton, n. sp. 



Salix sp. a Knowlton. 



Quercus baueri Knowlton, n. sp. 



Ficus baueri Knowlton, n. sp. 



Ficus curta? Knowlton. 



Ficus prsetrinervis Knowlton. 



Ficus leei Knowlton. 



Ficus prselatifoUa Knowlton, n. sp. 



Ficus sp. 



Ficus rhamnoides Knowlton. 



Ficus squarrosa Knowlton. 



Ficus sp. 



Ficus eucalyptifolia? Knowlton. 



Laurus baueri Knowlton, n. sp. 



Latirus coloradensis Knowlton. 



Nelumbo sp. 



Heteranthera cretacea Knowlton, n. sp. 



Pistia corrugata Lesquereux. 



Leguminosites? neomexicana Knowlton, n. sp. 



Pterospermites undulatus Knowlton. 



Pterospermites neomexicanus Knowlton, n. sp. 



Pterospermites sp. 



Ribes neomexicana Knowlton, n. sp. 



Carpites baueri Knowlton, n. sp. ^ 



PhylUtes petiolatus Knowlton, n. sp. 



PhylUtes neomexicanu.s Knowlton, n. sp. 



Unassigned plant (a). 



Unassigned plant (b). 



The above list comprises 40 forms, of which 

 6 are so fragmentary that they have not been 

 given specific names, 2 have not been assigned, 

 even gcnerically, 16 are regarded as new to 

 science, leaving 16 species knowTi previously 

 in other areas. 



Although new species as such have little 

 value in fixing the age of the rocks in which they 

 occur, it not infrequently happens that impor- 

 tant and far-reaching conclusions may be 

 drawn from a consideration of their obviously 

 close relation with species whose stratigraplaic 

 relations are known. Thus the species de- 

 scribed as Asplenium, nco-mexicanum is not to 



be distinguishetl from the fragment described 

 as Asplenium sp. Knowlton, from the Mcsa- 

 verde of Dutton Creek, Laramie Plains, Wyo. 

 Onoclea neomexicana belongs to a very long 

 lived type, which, it was previously supi)osed, 

 began in the Fort Union and is still hvmg. The 

 present form carries the tyjie much Turther 

 back. Anemia hesperia is not closely related 

 to any previously described fossil species from 

 this country. Myrica ? neomexicana is so 

 poorly reprbscnted that its generic reference 

 has been questioned, and hence its relationship 

 is obscured. The specimen of Salix haueri is 

 also poorly preserved as regards nervation and 

 is of little value in fixing its affinity. Quercus 

 haueri is most closely related to an unpublished 

 species front the Vermejo formation of southern 

 Colorado, differing in its slightly smaller size 

 and less prominent teeth. Ficus haueri is, in a 

 way, of the tj^je of Ficus de7weriana, a large 

 Denver species, but it differs veiy markedly in 

 nervation and is not considered to be closely 

 related to that species. Ficus prselatifoUa is 

 most nearly related to Ficus planicostata lati- 

 folia, a form first made known from Black 

 Buttes, Wyo., but later recorded from a num- 

 ber of horizons, including Montana and Lara- 

 mie. Laurus haueri is of the tj-pe of Laurus 

 socialis, a Tertiary form, but differs in nerva- 

 tion as well as in size. Heteranthera cretacea 

 belongs to a living tv'pe that has not before 

 been detected in a fossil state. The single 

 minute leaflet described under the name Legu- 

 minosites f neomexicana is so small and obscure 

 that its affinity can not be estabhshed. Ptero- 

 spermites neomexicanus is probably most closely 

 related to Pterospermites undulata of Point of 

 Rocks, Wyo. Riljes neomexicana is without 

 known close relations among fossil forms. The 

 species of Carpites and Phyllitcs have been des- 

 ignated by these nondescript names because 

 they are without recognized affiliations. 



The species common to the Fruitland and 

 Ku'tland formations and the Laramie formation 

 of the Denver Basin are Sequoia reichenbachi, 

 Sahal montana, Myrica torreyi, and Ficus prse- 

 trinervis. In working up the flora of the 

 Laramie of the Denver Basm of Colorado it 

 has been found that this flora embraces ap- 

 proximately 125 species, of which nine are 

 known to be common to the Montana. As all 

 four of the above-named species are mduded 

 in tlie nme common to the Laramie and Mon- 



