348 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.83 



siibcoriaceoiis. Leno^h about 6 cm. Maximum width about 5.4 cm. 

 Unfortunately the material is limited to the type specimen, so that. 

 nothing can be said of the possiljle limits of variation of the species. 



Petiole stout, somewhat inflated, and about 5 mm in length. Mid 

 vein stout, very prominent on lower surface of leaf, and slightly 

 curved. Secondaries three or four irregularly spaced pairs, stout 

 and prominent ; they diverge from mid vein at wide angles, sweep 

 upward in regular curves, and have camptodrome endings. Ter- 

 tiaries well marked and almost identical with those in the existing 

 Chrysohalanus icaco Linnaeus. 



C. icaco is a small coastal tree ranging from southern Florida to 

 southern Brazil, and its leaves are scarcely distinguishable from 

 those of the fossil species G. venezuelanus. Leaves of this type 

 appear in fossil record as early as the lower Eocene in southeastern 

 North America*, where they are accompanied by characteristic fruits. 

 Two species have been described from the Pliocene of Bahia, Brazil, 

 and one of these, C. freicaco^ has been considered ancestral to the 

 living G . icaco^ fruits of which occur in the Pleistocene of Cuba. 



The genus is a small one in the recent flora, confined to the At- 

 lantic coastal regions of the Americas and West Africa. The present 

 Venezuelan species is very similar to the Brazilian fossil species 

 mentioned above, but it is relatively wider and rounder, the latter 

 being almost identical with the leaf of the recent species. 



Occu^Tcnce. — Betijoque, District of Betijoque, State of Trujillo; 

 El Mene, District of Acosta, State of Falcon. 



7^y^e._U.S.N.M. no. 39296. 



Family MIMOSACEAE 

 Genus INGA Willdenow 



INGA REISSI Engelhardt 



Figure 29, a 



Inffa reissi Engelhardt, Abh. Senck. Nuturf. Ges., vol. 19, p 36, pi. 8, figs. 1, 

 2; pi. 9, fig. 8, 1895. 



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

 bia. Identical material is present in the collections from Palmarejo, 

 Venezuela. 



Leaflets sessile or short-petiolulate, variable in size, ovate in gen- 

 eral outline, widest at or below middle, inequilateral. Apex acute, 

 sometimes but rarely slightly i)roduced. Base generally broadly 

 rounded. Margins entire, evenly rounded. Texture subcoriaceous. 

 Length 3.25 to 7 cm. Maximum width 1.5 to 3.25 cm. Mid vein 

 stout, generally curved. Secondaries thin, five to seven subopposite 

 to alternate pairs, diverging from mid vein at angles of over 45°, 



* BL'iry, E. W., U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 91, p. 220, pi. 44, figs. 8-10, 1916. 



