290 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 55. 



This species suggests at first sight some short and broad leaved 

 species of Ficiis^ but the venation is not that of Ficus. I am not at 

 all certain that these leaves represent Banisteria^ although they are 

 very close to a number of existing South American species of that 

 genus, as well as in the allied genus Tetrafteris. In addition to this 

 foliar similarity I have been influenced by the presence of undoubted 

 fruits of Banisteria in the synchronous and not very distant deposits 

 at Loja in Ecuador.^ It might be remarked that some of the Big- 

 noniaceae have leaves of this sort as, for example, Bignonia and 

 Fridericia. 



The genus Banisteria contains over 70 existing species of climbing 

 or scrambling shrubs, ranging from the Antilles throughout tropi- 

 cal South America and reaching their maximum of development in 

 the rain forests of the Amazon Basin. At least two of the species, 

 Banisteria po^pulifolia and B. caducifiora are found in the Andean 

 region of Peru,^ where they inhabit humid valleys below 3,300 feet 

 in elevation. The genus is represented by both leaves and fruits in 

 the fossil state, and it was not uncommon in Europe and southeastern 

 North America during the Tertiary. 



Holotype.—Coii. No. 35333, U.S.N.M. 



Family TRIGONIACEAE. 



Genus TRIGONIA Aublet. 



TRIGONIA VARIANS Engelhardt? 



Trigonia varians Engelhardt, Abh. Senck. Naturf. Gesell., vol. 19, p. 35, pi. 

 7, figs. 4-6; pi. 9, fig. 9, 1894. 



This species was based on fairly complete material, not uncommon 

 at the Santa Ana locality in Colombia, which Engelhardt compared 

 with the existing species, Trigonia j)ubescens, T. glazioviana^ T . holi- 

 viana, and T. mollis. Fragmentary and not certainly identical re- 

 mains are contained in the collections from south of Tumbez. 



The generic identity of these forms is doubtful, and they suggest 

 the genus Myristica to me rather than Trigonia. The latter genus 

 has between 25 and 30 existing species, mostly shrubs, and, like the 

 family to which they belong, confined to the equatorial region from 

 Central America to southern Brazil. 



Family VOCHYSIACEAE. 



Genus VOCHYSIA Jussieu. 



VOCHYSIA RETUSIFOLIA Engelhardt? 



Vochysia retusifolia Engelhardt, Abh. Senck. Naturf. Gesell., vol. 19, p. 34, 

 pi. 7, fig. 8, 1895. 



This species was based upon incomplete material from near Santa 

 Ana, in Colombia. The Peruvian material is still more fragmentary, 



1 Engelhardt, H., Abh. Senck. Naturf. Gesell., vol. 19, p. 14, pi. 2, flgs. 18, 19, 1895. 

 * Weberbaoer, A., Die Pflanzenwelt der peruanischeu Anden, 1911, pp. 155, 282. 



