268 UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY— TERTIARY FLORA. 



CEL A STEELE. 



CELASTRUS, Linn. 



A largo niiinljcr of species of this genus, more (luiii sixty, arc descrilted 

 in the present flora. Half of tlieni are credited to Africa, esj^ecially to the 

 Cape of Good Hope. India and China, with Japan, have fifleen species, and 

 North America one. A few inhaljit Peru and Sonth America. It is remark- 

 able that in Europe, where the genus is not represented by any species at our 

 time, the Tertiary flora has such a large number of Celastrus, fitly-four si)ecies, 

 mostly distril)ute(l in the Lower Miocene (Armissaii, Ligurian, etc.). Besides 

 these, tbnr species of Celastrinites, a genus established I)y Saportn, are described 

 from Sezanne, and three as Celastrophyllum^ from Bilin, by d'Ettingshausen. 

 Leaves referable to these divisions are, per contra, extremely rare in our 

 Tertiary. From the Cretaceous of the Dakota group, I have described, as 

 Celuslrophijllum ensifollum (Cret. FL, p. 108, i)l. xxi, figs. 2, 3), leaves whicli, 

 in the opinion of European authors, of Count Saporta especially, are referable 

 to the order of the CelastrecE, and related indeed to a Celastro^'lnjlluni recog- 

 nized in the Cretaceous of Niedershoena l)y d'Ettingshausen. And, until 

 now, from the American Tertiary Lignitic, we have only two kinds of leaves 

 apparently referable to this order, both described here as Celastrinites. This 

 case, with some others recorded already, shows the great difference in the 

 flora of the North American Tertiary compared with that of Europe. In the 

 groups of plants predominant in our present flora, the analogy of distribution 

 at the Tertiary epoch upon both continents is sometimes remarkable. In 

 those which are now exotic, especially the Austro-Indiau, African, and 

 Australian types, the diiferences are wonderful indeed. 



Celastrinites itrtocarpidioides, Lesax. 

 Plate XXXV, Fig. 3. 

 Jrlocarpidium olmedue/oliumf, (Ung.) Lesqx., Aunnnl Report, 1873, p. 400. 



Leaf ovate-elliptical, apparently obtuse, cuncate to tbe petiole, borders irregnlarly distiuctly cre- 

 uate; secondary nerves inequidistant, opou, mostly simple, curving nt a distance from the borders. 



This leaf appears rather thin, has its surface crumi)lcd, and the nerva- 

 tion somewhat indistinct. It is comparatively small, seven centimeters long 

 and f()ur wide, and apparently ol)tusely pointed (point broken); the base 

 is cuneiform to a short petiole, also destroyed in part; the border cut in 

 irregular, obtuse or pointed teeth, and the nervation camptodrome, the sec- 



