556 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.59. 



comprise a fragment of a generically undeterminable fan palm and 

 a fragment of a large leaf of the American wild banana, Heliconia, 

 which forms thickets in the rain forests of the present day in central 

 and northern South America. 



Among the Dicotyledons there are two species of Moraceae — a fig 

 belonging to the immense cosmopolitan genus Ficus, and a species 

 of Coussapoa representing an exclusively American tropical type of 

 Central and South America. No other dicotyledonous family except 

 the Leguminosae is represented by more than a single species. The 

 order Ranales is represented by a species of Anona, a genus which, 

 except for two or three forms of tropical Africa and Asia, is exclusively 

 American with three score or more existing species. 



The representation of the order Rosales is most interesting. It 

 may be noted that none of the forms recorded came from the Beti- 

 joque locality, which has an assemblage that suggests a partially 

 inundated tidal estuary border. The forms referred to the Rosales 

 all belong to the leguminous alliance and include the striking speci- 

 men of a sea bean, two species referred to Leguminosites, one of 

 which suggests the leaflets of Entada, and a species of Sophora — a 

 tropical and often coastal type in modern floras. 



The order Geraniales contains representatives of the three families 

 Simarubaceae,Burseraceae, and Trigoniaceae of the genera Simarvha, 

 Burserites, and Trigonia, respectively. The first is to-day confined 

 to the American Tropics; Burserites is a form genus named from its 

 resemblance to the existing genus Bursera which is confined to the 

 American Tropics. The third is likewise exclusively American and 

 tropical in the existing flora. 



The Myrtales is represented by the form from Betijoque, which I 

 consider as a species of mangrove of that familiar tropical plant 

 association of tidal estuary mud flats. The Ebenales are doubt- 

 fully represented by the floral remains referred to Antholithus and 

 tentatively considered as belonging to the family Symplocaceae. 

 The order Gentianales is represented by a species referred to the 

 form genus Apocynophyllum. 



All of the foregoing are types which in existing floras are tropical 

 in their distribution; all belong to types which are exclusively 

 American or largely represented in America, and several genera 

 have their modern representatives confined to the South American 

 Tropics. The flora is not only tropical but lowland in character. 

 This is indicated by the predominantly coastal types present, such 

 as - Sophora, Rhizophora, Simaruba, Burserites, Entada, etc., and is 

 not negatived by any of the described species, since none would be 

 out of place in such an association. Moreover it may be noted that 

 all of the dicotyledons are coriaceous or subcoriaceous types with 



