ioo STUDIES IN GEOLOGY, No. 4 



The tribe Cinnamomese, which embraces fully half of the 

 looo existing species of L,auraceae, and which is found on all 

 of the continents except Europe, but is chiefly South Amer- 

 ican and Asian, is also the largest in this fossil flora with 8 of 

 the 14 recorded species of the family. Two are referred to 

 Persea and are close to existing East Peruvian and Brazilian 

 forms. Two are referred to Phcebe and are similarly close 

 to forms of the Upper Amazon basin. Two are referred to 

 Nectandra or Nectandrophyllum with similar relation- 

 ships, one to Mespilodaphne and one to Camphoromcea, both 

 related to existing Brazilian species. For the guidance of 

 readers I may state that I recognize the genera Mespilo- 

 daphne and Camphoromcea, although some systematists, 

 notably Pax, submerge them in the unnatural genus Ocotea 

 Aublet. 



The tribe Acrodiclidieae, which is confined to Central and 

 South America in the existing flora, except for the single 

 genus Endiandra R. Brown with less than a score of forms 

 ranging from the East Indies to Australia, is represented in 

 the Chilean Tertiary by a species of Acrodiclidium close to an 

 existing Brazilian form. The tribe Cryptocaryeae, which 

 occurs on all of the continents except Europe, is represented 

 by 3 species of Gceppertia ( referred to the genus Aydendron 

 by Pax) and o<ne of Ampelodaphne, all close to existing 

 Brazilian species, in fact these two genera are confined to 

 tropical America in the modern flora. 



It is perhaps unnecessary to discuss the tossil records of 

 the foregoing genera of Lauraceae since they are largely 

 obscured by the paleobotanical use of Laurus as a form- 

 genus. Many go back to the late Cretaceous and others 

 appear in the early Tertiary, and several were once cos- 

 mopolitan. The family appears to have been of northern 

 origin and its range has recently been discussed by me in 

 another place. 15 



15 Berry, E. W., U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 91, pp. 115-118, 

 1916. 



