306 CXJPRESSIlirEAE [p^- 



flourished on the western edge of Europe during the period of 

 volcanic activity responsible for the widespread sheets of lava in 

 the North-East of Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland. 



Cwpressites taxiformis Unger. 



This species was founded by Unger ^ on sterile and fertile shoots 

 from Eocene beds in the Tyrol. Many of the sterile branches are 

 similar in the form of the linear leaves to Taxus, but other leaves 

 are appressed to the axis and free only at the apex, resembling on 

 a small scale those of Sequoia gigantea. The cones consist of 

 polygonal, peltate, scales probably verticillate and superficially 

 similar to the strobili of Cupressus : they are borne on shoots with 

 scale-like leaves. The species is recorded by De la Harpe^ from 

 the Isle of Wight and several specimens are figured by Gardner* 

 from the Middle Bagshot beds of Bournemouth. The material 

 from the latter locality consists of sterile shoots with linear Taxus- 

 like leaves from 5 to 15 mm. long and occasionally, on the same 

 axis, smaller decurrent leaves, though generally the two forms are 

 found on different twigs. The cones occur only 

 in connexion with the shoots bearing small ap- 

 pressed leaves : the specimen shown in fig. 751 

 has been re-drawn from one of Gardner's figured 

 specimens* : it is characterised by peltate scales 

 with a central umbo and a wrinkled surface. 

 The evidence in favour of assigning all the ^^^^^^'^cupre.sites 

 sterile shoots to the same species is not con- taxiformis. (From 

 vincing, though a similar combination is met a specimen in the 



with in the recent species Glyvtostrobus hetero- ^"*'^!' Museum; 



■^ . nat. size.) 



■phyllus. If we confine our attention to the cones 



they may reasonably be retained in the genus Cupressites and 



regarded as evidence of the existence in Western Europe in the 



Eocene period of a type closely allied to the genus Cupressus, 



The position of the sterile shoots cannot be determined without 



further investigation. 



1 Unger (47) p. 18, PI. vin. figs. 1—3; PI. ix. figs. 1—4. 



2 De la Harpe in Bristow (62) PI. v. fig. 2. 



3 Gardner (86) p. 26, Pi. i. figs. 1—13; PI. v. figs. 13, 14; PI. vn. fig. 8; PI. ix. 

 figs. 22—26, 28—30. 



' Ibid. PI. IX. fig. 27. 



