A Ficus confused with Proteoides 



Edward Wilber Berry 



(With plate 21) 



The genus Proteoides was founded in 1866 by Heer to include 

 leaves which he considered as belonging to some member of the 

 Proteaceae, but which it was not possible to determine more pre- 

 cisely. Since that date this genus has been the receptacle for those 

 more or less lanceolate, somewhat coriaceous leaves with an obscured 

 venation, which are so common during the latter part of the lower 

 and the first part of the upper Cretaceous. The genus undoubt- 

 edly includes some forms whose affinities are with the Proteaceae, 

 although I venture to advance the opinion that such an affinity on 

 the part of the American leaves usually referred to this genus is 

 very doubtful. 



The species with which I am principally concerned, and with 

 which I am most familiar, is Proteoides dapknogenoides Heer, de- 

 scribed originally from the Dakota group of Nebraska, and since 

 found to be exceedingly plentiful in the Atlantic coastal plain dur- 

 ing the Mid-Cretaceous. 



I have for a considerable time been of the opinion that this leaf 

 was not Proteaceous, and this opinion seems to have been at least 

 suggested to Newberry in regard to the Raritan leaves, at least 

 what he says impHes that while he is sure that his leaves are iden- 

 tical with those of Heer and Lesquereux from the West, he is 

 doubtful if their specimens were correctly identified. Hollick * 

 IS more definite, saying of the Staten Island leaves that they are 

 identical with Newberry's Raritan leaves whether the latter are 

 correctly identified or not. 



Without considering any arguments based on the distribution of 

 the Proteaceae in the living flora we may note that Proteoides daph- 

 nogenoides^ of the coastal plain, while agreeing exactly with Les- 

 C[uereux's characterization based on the western forms, even to the 



* Hollick, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. II : 420. 1898. 



327 



