290 STANTON 



as seen below from quotations of Prof. G. M. Dawson's report. Six 

 are identical with, and seven are analogous to, those of the Lower 

 European Miocene; two are identical with, and one allied to, Arctic 

 Miocene" species. Seven have a close relation to plants of the Lower 

 European Eocene, Sezanne and Gelinden, two localities composing 

 a subdivision separated at the base of the Tertiary, under the name 

 of Paleocene. Three are identified and one analogous in the flora 

 of Golden; nine identical and one analogous in that of Black Buttes; 



and four have analogy with Cretaceous forms 



The groups of plants at Point of Rocks has, besides the Eocene 

 representatives, six species identified with, and as many related to, 

 those of the Miocene of Europe. Therefore, we see here, what has 

 been remarked in other localities of the Lignitic, a compound or admix- 

 ture of old and young Tertiary types, in comparison at least with 

 the fossil floras of Europe, and thus a general character which does not 

 distinctly relate our first group to any peculiar stage of the European 

 Tertiary. We have the Paleocene by relation to species of Gelinden 

 and Suzanne; the Upper Eocene, especially the Ligurian, or Oligocene, 

 by the Palms; and the Miocene by a number of common and generally 

 distributed forms, which, like Sequoia hrevifolla, Sequoia langsdorfii, 

 Populus mutabilis, Ficus tilicefolia, Rhamnus rectinervis, Juglans rugosa, 

 etc., are persistent types of wide distribution, indicating merely the 

 Tertiary age for the Lignitic flora. For this reason, I shall continue 

 to carefully record its points of affinity with the divers groups of the 

 geological floras of Europe; but at the same time, denying as yet 

 sufficient evidence for its identification to any of them, I persist in 

 considering it simply as the Lower Eocene flora of this continent. 



Mr. J. Starkie Gardner, who is cited by Newberry as authority for 

 the reference to the Eocene of certain Arctic American floras that are 

 related to the Fort Union flora, had such peculiar views concerning 

 the characteristics of Cretaceous floras that his opinions on correla- 

 tions of formations outside of Great Britain have little weight. His 

 study of British floras led him to conclude that there are no Cretace- 

 ous dicotyledons.^- He therefore regarded the floras of the Dakota 

 sandstone, of Vancouver Island, and of many European localities 

 usually called Cretaceous and 



" Knowlton's review of the Montana flora, including the Point of Rocks 

 species (Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 163, iqoo), does not recognize close 

 relationship with Tertiary floras and discredits most of Lesquereux's identi- 

 fications in it of European Eocene and Miocene species. 



"Gardner, J. Starkie.: On the age of the Laramie formation as indicated 

 by its vegetable remains, Am. Naturalist, Vol. XIV, 1880, pp. 565-560. 



