No. 2388. TERTIARY FOSSIL PLANTS FROM VENEZUELA— BERRY. 563 



Class DICOTYLEDONAE. 

 Order URTICALES. 

 Family MORACEAE. 



Genus COUSSAPOA Aublet. 



COUSSAPOA VILLOSOIDES, new species. 



Plate 108, figs. 1-4. 



Leaves of large size, but not large for this genus, broadly ovate in 

 general outline, widest at or below the middle, narrowing distad to 

 the bluntly pointed tip. Base wide and full, slightly cordate. 

 Margins entire, but slightly undulate. Texture coriaceous, the upper 

 surface polished, the lower surface villous. Length about 15 cm. 

 Maximum width about 12.5 cm. Petiole very stout, thin, and flush 

 on the upper surface of the leaf, but very prominent on the lower 

 surface. Secondaries 8 to 10 opposite to alternate pairs, which, 

 except for the basal and opposite pair, diverge from the midrib at 

 regular intervals, at angles of about 45°, and pursue nearly straight 

 subparallel courses, curving somewhat toward their tips and abruptly 

 comptodrome close to the margins. The basal pair, which may be 

 considered as representing the first stage in the development of 

 lateral primaries, although they are no stouter than the strictly pin- 

 nate secondaries above them, diverge from the midrib at the top of 

 the petiole and immediately below the normal second pair of 

 secondaries; their angle of divergence from the midrib approaches 

 90° and they curve rather regularly upward subparallel with the 

 lower lateral margins, each giving off on the outside about four 

 camptodrome tertiaries or pseudo-secondaries, all but the lowest 

 pair of which follow the basal margins of the leaf, pursuing rather 

 straight courses. The tertiaries are relatively stout, well marked on 

 the lower surface of the leaf but faint on the upper surface; they are 

 very closely spaced, are for the most part simple, but slightly curved, 

 and percurrent at right angles to the secondaries. The nervilles are 

 prevailingly at right angles to the tertiaries, and where the latter fork, 

 as they frequently do, the cross nervillc joins one limb with the other, 

 so that the tertiaries appear more nearly parallel and more generally 

 simple than they really are. 



The present species is exceedingly well marked, and so similar to 

 certain existing species of Coussapoa as to amount almost to identity. 

 Although I have not seen all of the existing species of Coussapoa, 

 since several are not represented in American Herbaria, the fossil is 

 exceedingly like Coussapoa ruizii Klotsch and Coussapoa villosa 

 Poeppig and Endlicher, of which I have had numerous specimens 



