NO. 2270. MIOCENE FOSSIL PLANTS FROM PERU— BERRY. 287 



cfllity in Colombia. It is of slig]it value, and the similar but more 

 fragmentary remains found at the locality south of Tumbez may or 

 may not represent the same species. 



Class DICOTYLEDONAE. 



Order URTICALES. 



Family MORACEAE. 



Genus FICUS Linnaeus. 



FICUS WINSLOWIANA, new species. 



Plate 16, fig. 2. 

 Description. — Leaves of medium size, ovate in general outline, with 

 a bluntly pointed apex and base. Length about 10 cm. Maximum 

 width, in the lower half of the leaf, about 4.5 cm. Margins entire, 

 evenly rounded. Texture subcoriaceous. Petiole missing. Midrib 

 stout, prominent on the lower surface of the leaf. Secondaries thin, 

 immersed in the leaf substance; about 9 alternate pairs diverge from 

 the midrib at angles of 45 degrees or more, becoming less ascending 

 toward the apex of the leaf. The secondaries are thin, almost straight, 

 subparallel and subequall}^ spaced. Their tips are joined by an 

 aerodrome vein well within the margin of each side of the lamina. 

 This vein arches slightly from tip to tip of the successive secondaries. 

 The tertiaries are mostly obsolete; where preserved, they are thin, 

 closely spaced, and percurrent. 



This species is named in honor of the collector, Mr. C. F. Winslow. 

 It appears to be new, although it is similar to many existing and 

 fossil species of Ficus. It shows considerable resemblance to unde- 

 scribed forms found in the middle and upper Eocene of the south- 

 eastern United States, but appears to be perfectly distinct from any 

 fossil forms known from the Tertiary of Panama, Colombia, Ecua- 

 dor, or Chile. 



Several hundred existing species of Ficus, showing a wide range 

 of form, are known, and they are especially abundant in the Amazon 

 and the Orinoco basins and throughout the oriental tropics. The 

 number of fossil forms that have been referred to this genus is large, 

 including perhaps 300 species. None are certainly known from the 

 Lower Cretaceous. In the Upper Cretaceous, however, Ficus is 

 widespread and abundant, being represented by characteristic fruits 

 as well as leaves, which seemingly indicate a Lower Cretaceous an- 

 cestry that is as yet unknown. The cosmopolitanism inaugurated 

 during the Upper Cretaceous continues throughout the Tertiary, 

 during which time there were many species. 

 Eolotype.— Cat No. 35337, U.S.N.M. 



