TERTIARY FLORA OF CHILE 101 



The order Myrtales is an extensive one with about 335 

 genera and nearly 8,000 existing species segregated in n 

 families the bulk of the species belonging to the ancient 

 families Myrtaceae and Melastomatacese. There are 3 families 

 and 9 or 10 species in the Chilean fossil flora. The Combre- 

 tacese is represented by extremely doubtful material referred 

 to Combretum and so far as it goes comparable with the 

 existing Combretum laxum Aublet of the Antilles, Central 

 America and tropical South America. 



The family Lecythidacese has a species of Lecythis close 

 to the existing Lecythis sprue eana Berg of the Amazon 

 basin. The genus, which has about 40 existing species, be- 

 longs to the tribe Lecythidoidese with 10 genera and about 

 185 existing species, all found exclusively in the South Amer- 

 ican tropics. 



The large family Myrtaceae, whose history I have dis- 

 cussed recently in another place 16 is represented by 7 species 

 of which i is referred to Psidium, 4 to Myrcia, I to Myrciaria 

 and i to Myrciophyllum. The modern species of Psidium 

 number over 100 and range from the Antilles and Mexico to 

 Uruguay. The fossil form is close to Psidium polycarpon 

 Lamb which ranges from southern Mexico to Trinidad and 

 Brazil. The three species of Myrcia are close to existing 

 Brazilian species. The genus is very large with an extended 

 geological history which goes back to the Upper Cretaceous, 

 and it stands close to the ancestral stock of the family. It 

 was apparently cosmopolitan in the earlier Tertiary and 

 still contains upward of 450 species confined to the tropical 

 American region. 



The genus Myrciaria is very close to Myrcia and of doubt- 

 ful distinction as a term applied to a fossil form. It contains 

 about 60 existing species ranging from Antilles to Peru and 

 Brazil. Were I describing these forms de novo I would refer 

 both Myrciaria and Myrciophyllum to the genus Myrcia. 



16 Berry, E. W., Bot. Gaz., vol. 59, pp. 484-490, 1915. 



