204 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



tious, dome-shaped at the summit, with a terminal bud at the apex 

 composed of small polygonal organs, usually light reddish, soft, friable, 

 and of low specific gravity, but sometimes darker, harder, and heavier, 

 20 to 40 cm. liigh, LT) to 50 cm. in dianu'ter, the branches 10 to 20 cm. 

 long, 10 to 30 cm. in diameter, 30 to 90 cm. in girth; leaf bases slightly 

 ascending; leaf scars very irregularly distributed over the surface 

 excei)t of the branches, here sometimes arranged in two sets of spiral 

 rows which intersect each other at about the same angle (GO^) with the 

 axis of tiie branch, subrhombic, the ui)per and lower angles reduced to 

 mere curves, 23 mni. wide, 12 mm. high; leaf bases almost always 

 present, usually projecting, porous; vascular bundles often distinct, set 

 well apart in a row some distance from the margin with a few others 

 near the center, ap])earing either as snuill pits or black dots; ramentum 

 walls thin, 1 to 2 mm., usually with a groove or commissure, sometimes 

 thickening at the angles and affected with elongated pits and other 

 openings, some of these latter passing into abortive llower buds, which 

 constitute all that is known of the reproductive organs of the species; 

 armor T) cm. thick; woody axis only known in certain branches, thin, 

 2 to 3 cm., and not visibly divided; medulla in one specimen J> cm. in 

 diameter, black and homogeneous. 



Twelve of the specimens of the Vale collection have been referred to 

 this species, namely, Nos. 15, 45, 45), 51, (55, (KJ, (JT, 70, 74. 75, 82, and 85, 

 and still iiiueli remains uncertain as to the characters. They nearly 

 all agree in the most striking feature, the i)ossession of i)eculiar turret- 

 like brandies, but owing to the I'ragile nature of the rock and the 

 sprangling habit of the species all tlie specimens were badly broken to 

 ])ie(;es and nothing remains but (li.sjcct<( membra. Sonu' of these plants 

 evidently consisted entirely of branches and possessed no trunk proper 

 which could be regarded as bearing these branches, but usually there 

 was a large shapeless mass at the base from which they proceeded in 

 all directions. Such was the case in Nos. 45, 51, GG, and (57, some of 

 which must be nearly com])lete. Nos. 45 and 75 belong to the harder 

 and heavier sort, and possibly nuiy not l)eh)ng to this species. They 

 might be referred to V. minnehdttensis or ('. marnhiana but for differ- 

 ences in the leaf scars ami petioles, which agree with this species. No. 

 74 is very anomalous and is only placed here to avoid making new 

 species out of deficient material. The turret, if such it was, is reduced 

 by erosion to a ])ointed cone without character. The specimen is worn 

 to and into the nu'dulla on one side, but the opposite side is well pre- 

 served. The leaf scars are typical, but there is a number of large pro- 

 jecting axes looking like horns, and the specimen, laid on the Avorn 

 si<le, has the shape and semblance of a gigantic "horned toad.'' All 

 the other specimens are much alike, and No. 82 is taken as the type for 

 nu)st of the characters. 



So far as the rock substance, color, and external organs are concerned, 

 this species is very close to (\ mchridci, but that si)ecies is always 

 simple and consists of one large short trunk, constituting a broad dis- 



