Mar. 1899.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 193 



tropical woods of the order Ilicinese. On the whole, 

 however, I am inclined to regard it as that of an evergreen 

 tree allied to the Lanracea- or Myristicaceit-. 



Specimen 3, Plate II., is an irregularly triangular 

 fragment, the outline of the cross section being a quadrant 

 of the stem, the sides measuring approximately 65, 52, 

 and 58 mm. The colour is a light brown, mottled with 

 splashes of yellow and smoky black. Two-thirds of the 

 fragment is in an indifferent state of preservation as far 

 as the more minute anatomical structure is concerned, 

 but the rays, rings, and tracheal apertures are perfectly 

 evident all through. A drawing of a similar fragment, 

 from Antigua, showing structure, is figured in Witham's 

 " Fossil Plants." The annual rings are well marked. As 

 to the growth of the tree, it would appear to have been 

 moderately fast, there being about eight rings to the 

 inch of radius. 



The medullary rays are fine and of fairly uniform distri- 

 bution, their breadth varying from '01 07 to '0214 mm. 

 They number about sixty-five for five millimetres tangential 

 area. They bend outwards on either side of the trache;e. 

 These tracheie are of approximately uniform size throughout 

 and of extremely uniform distribution, they are scarcely 

 appreciably more numerous towards the outer side of each 

 annual ring ; their average radial measurement is "15, while 

 the tangential is "llTS mm. 



They are commonly single, but radial groups of two are 

 frequent, groups of three or more do occur, but rarely. 

 Each large trachea is girdled by a ring of smaller elements 

 which extend tangentially so as to connect neighbouring 

 tracheae and give rise to a series of interrupted false rings. 

 The intervals between the rays vary in width from about 

 the breadth of a broad ray to that of a large vessel, the 

 average width being "OG-J: mm. 



The structure of the general ground tissue can only be 

 surmised, as its place is taken by translucent silica ; 

 possibly it consisted of a uniform matrix of fibres. The 

 similarity of the transverse section to acacias of various 

 species is striking, but these are faster growing trees with 

 less numerous medullary rays. Its nearest recent allies 

 are to be found amono; the Pihanmacete or Rutacese. 



