in the amber. It is also significant that none of the other 
resin producers in Chiapas today had spectra resembling 
the amber (Langenheim and Beck, 1965). Thus, the in- 
frared spectra have given convincing evidence that the 
Chiapas amber was derived from an ancestral member 
of Hymenaea. 
The presence of Hymenaea leaflets in the amber pro- 
vides further corroboration for the source (Langenheim, 
1966). This conclusion receives additional support from 
studies of the manner of resin production and accumula- 
tion in Hymenaea Courbaril (Langenheim, 1967) and the 
depositional conditions of the amber. HY. Courbaril pro- 
duces large quantities of resin that accumulate in the soil 
around the roots, and in Mexico today it grows common- 
ly along rivers that enter the ocean in mangrove-fringed 
estuaries. Analysis of the pollen in the amber-bearing 
beds indicates that the amber was deposited in such an 
estuarine environment with abundant mangrove present 
(Langenheim, Hackner and Bartlett, 1967). 
Seattle Amber 
Amber from the Renton Formation near Seattle, 
Washington, was discovered by J. Wolfe. Vine (1962) 
considers the Renton to be late Eocene to early Oligo- 
cene in age. Wolfe (pers. com., 1966) reports that there 
are no plant fossils at the amber locality itself, although 
they are common in the Puget Group, of which the Ren- 
ton Formation is a member. Conifers present are taxo- 
diaceous, including Sequoia, Metasequoia and Glypto- 
strobus. The dicotyledenous flora is rich but still largely 
unidentified. The La Porte and Comstock floras are 
about the same age as the Renton. 
Five spectra were run of amber from the Museum of 
Paleontology, University of California Collection B8427. 
Most of this amber occurs in small friable pieces. It is 
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