THE FLORA. 



147 



reported as doubtfully present in the Raton 

 formation of southern Colorado. 



The probable presence of this species in the 

 Laramie near Erie, Colo., is attested by the 

 single example here figured. It is very frag- 

 mentary, lacking nearly all of the basal portion, 

 and the secondaries and ribs are at a more 

 acute angle in the type specimen, but other- 

 wise it appears to be referable to this species. 



Occurrence: Laramie formation, Reliance 

 mine, 1| miles northeast of Erie, Colo., col- 

 lected by F. H. Knowlton and G. C. Martin, 



1908. 



Family LEGtTMINOSAE. 



Leguminosites? coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 



Plate XIX, figure 9. 



Leguminositesf coloradensis Knowlton [nomen nudum]. 

 U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 696, p. 352, 1919. 



Fruit of large size, flattened obovoid, point 

 of attachment small (apex not seen) , thickened 

 or ridged along one side, body provided with 

 numerous fine transverse lines. 



This specimen, the only one observed, lacks 

 the apical (?) end but otherwise is apparently 

 perfect. Its present length is 2.5 centimeters, 

 but when perfect it was probably not less than 

 3 centimeters in length. The width is L5 cen- 

 timeters, and the thickness in its present flat- 

 tened condition is about 5 millimeters. The 

 transverse lines are obscure, and th^re is no 

 indication of lines in the other direction. 



The generic reference of this specimen is 

 somewhat uncertain, from the fact that it is 

 not perfect and also because it does not lie in 

 the matrix so as to be displayed to the best 

 advantage. In its shape and the transverse 

 lines it somewhat resembles what has been 

 called Nyssa? racemosa Knowlton, from the 

 Denver beds at Golden, but it diff'ers greatly 

 in size and in the absence of longitudinal lines 

 or ribs. It may possibly belong to the genus 

 Podogonium, so many species of which from 

 the Swiss Miocene are described by Heer,^° 

 but it is not clear that it is a pod of this char- 

 acter, and, moreover, there are no transverse 

 striae in the forms shown by Heer. In gen- 

 erf\l shape and in size it suggests Leguminosites? 

 arachioides Lesquereux," though it differs 

 markedly in the striations and their direction. 



« Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 3, pi. 136, 1859. 

 " Lesquereux, Leo, The Tertiary flora: U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

 Rept., vol. 7, pi. 59, fig. 14, 1878. 



Occurrence: Laramie formation, wooded 

 bluff south of Marshall, Colo., collected by 

 A. C. Peale, 1908. 



Leguminosites columbianus Knowlton, n. sp. 



Plate XIX, figures 4, 5. 



Leguminosites columbianus Knowlton [nomen nudum], 

 U. S. Geol. Surv'ey Bull. 696, p. 3.52, 1919. 



As interpreted this appears to have been a 

 small turgid pod which was a little longer 

 than broad, acuminate at the apex, and short- 

 pediceled. 



This remarkable form is represented by three 

 specimens, all of which are figured. The two 

 more nearly perfect examples appear to be 

 small pods that have been split along one of 

 the sutures and are now open on the stone. 

 The larger one has a length of 9 millimeters 

 exclusive of the pedicel, which is 2 millimeters 

 long, and a width of 6 millimeters as it is 

 spread open, or 3 millimeters to each "valve." 

 The smaller specimen is 5.5 millimeters long 

 and 6 millimeters wide and is without a pedicel. 

 The third specimen is somewhat crushed and 

 distorted. It is 1 1 millimeters long and appears 

 to have been 6 or 7 millimeters wide ; it also is 

 without a pedicel. 



Just at the point of the more crushed speci- 

 men there are two small round or oblong, pea- 

 like seeds, each 3 millimeters in diameter. 

 Very close to the large perfect specimen is the 

 impression of what appears to have been a 

 similar "seed." There is of course no proof 

 that either of the "seeds" came from these 

 pods, but their proximity renders it possible, if 

 not probable, although none of the pods appear 

 to show traces or imprints of the seeds, as it 

 would seem they should. 



It is with hesitation that this fossil is given so 

 definite a name as Leguminosites. This genus 

 was instituted for the reception of certain mis- 

 cellaneous plant remains which appear to be- 

 long to the Leguminosae but about which 

 knowledge is too indefinite to permit a satis- 

 factory generic reference. The fossils under 

 consideration appear to belong to the Legumi- 

 nosae — that is, they appear to be pods from 

 which small round, pealike "seeds" may have 

 escaped. They have a form very like that of 

 certain living species of Astragalus, as A. cana- 

 densis Linne and A. confertifolius Gray, or 



