356 M. Bi'ongniart on the diffei'ent Floras which 



1 . For the eocene epoch, the presence, but the rarity of Palms, 

 confined to a small number of species. The predominance of 

 Algae and marine Monocotyledons, which must be attributed to 

 the great extent of marine formations during this epoch. 



The existence of a great number of extra-European forms, re- 

 sulting however from the presence of the fossil fruits of Sheppey. 



2. For the miocene epoch, the abundance of Palms in the 

 majority of the localities incontestably belonging to this epoch ; 

 the existence of a tolerably large number of non-European forms, 

 and particularly of the genus Steinhauera, which appears to me 

 to be a Rubiaceous plant allied to the Morinda, found in several 

 localities of these formations. 



3. For the pliocene epoch, the great predominance and the 

 variety of the Dicotyledons, the rarity of the Monocotyledons, 

 and, especially, the absence of Palms ; lastly, the general analogy 

 of the forms of these plants with those of the temperate regions 

 of Europe, North America and Japan. 



A remarkable character of the floras of these three epochs, but 

 one which becomes still more striking in the last, in which Dico- 

 tyledonous plants are more numerous, is the absence of the most 

 numerous and most characteristic families of the Gamopetalse. 

 Thus, in all the numerous impressions of Parschlug, (Eningen, 

 Horing, Radoboj, &c., nothing announces the existence of Com- 

 positse, Campanulacea^, Personatse, Labiatse, Solanacese, Boragi- 

 naceae, &c. 



The only Monopetalse cited in large numbers are the Ericaceae, 

 the Ilicineae, with some Sapotaceae and Styraceae, families which 

 contain almost as many dialypetalous as gamopetalous plants. 



In the miocene flora alone, several Apocynaceae have been in- 

 dicated, and the Rubiaceous genus I have cited above. 



1. Eocene Epoch. 



This epoch, in its most precise hmits, comprehends the plastic 

 clay with its lignites, the Parisian marine limestone (calcaire gros- 

 sier), and the gypsum above it in this same basin ; but I have not 

 considered it necessary to separate from it, for the present, certain 

 formations, which, according to the researches of modern geolo- 

 gists, are placed between the cretaceous formation and the infe- 

 rior portions of the beds which we have just indicated : such are 

 the nummulitic beds of the district of Vicenza, including the cele- 

 brated deposits of Monte Bolca, and probably certain neighbour- 

 ing localities, such as Salcedo, in the district of Vicenza. I have 

 also joined to this flora of the eocene formations a very remark- 

 able locality of the Paris basin, the relations of which with the 

 tertiary strata are not yet perfectly determined : viz. the layers 

 of the kind of ancient travertine which, near Sezanne, contain 



