ART. 24 FOSSIL, PLANTS FKOM COLOMBIA — BERRY 9 



suggests that it may come from the Guaduas beds, but it would take 

 a personal examination to settle the question and the age must 

 therefore be considered conjectural. 



The accompanying figures show both the transverse and tangen- 

 tial sections with the plant parts in white and the matrix and filling 

 in black. 



The genus Theohroma comprises about a dozen existing species of 

 trees confined to the American Tropics, where they range from the 

 warmer parts of Mexico to the upper Amazon. All are humid 

 tropical types and the cultivated forms have been introduced into 

 all tropical lands. This appears to be the first record of a fossil 

 form, and it is particularly unfortunate that more material is not 

 available and that the age can not be settled. 



Order LAURALES 



Family LAURACEAE 



Genus PERSEA Gaertner fils 



PERSEA CORIACEA Engelhardt (?) 



Plate 5, Figure 3 



Persea coriacea Engelhardt, Abh. Senck. Naturf. Gesell., vol. 19, p. 26, 

 pi. 6, figs. 3, 4, 1895 



Since the present material is very fragmentary certainty of identi- 

 fication is impossible, but the material is certainly lauraceous and 

 appears to represent the species described bj^ Engelhardt from Santa 

 Ana, Colombia, as a Persea. There is much difficulty in discrimi- 

 nating fossil leaves of this family and similar leaves have also been 

 referred to Nedandra, Mespilodaphne, and Oreodaphne. Hollick has 

 recently referred similar leaves from the Tertiary of Porto Rico to 

 the related genus Aniba. 



Because of the incompleteness of the present material close com- 

 parisons are impossible and for the same reason there is no advantage 

 in changing the genus to some other equally uncertain one, and the 

 species is therefore retained as it was designated by Engelhardt. It 

 comes from the older travertine at Leiva, Department of Boyaca. 



Genus NECTANDRA Roland 



NECTANDRA AREOLATA Engelhardt 



Nedandra areolata Engelhardt, Abh. Senck. Naturf. Gesell., vol. 19, p. 29, 

 pi. 6, figs. 1, 2, 1895.— Berry, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 59, p. 177, pi. 27, 

 1921; vol. 62, art. 19, p. 19, pi. 4, fig. 3, 1923. 



This species was described by Engelhardt from Santa Ana, Colom- 

 bia, and recorded by me from the Miocene of Costa Rica and south- 

 ern Mexico (Oaxaca). 



