50 E. W. Berry — Late Loiver Cretaceous. 



in these Lower Cretaceous foliar remains. I have 

 nothing definite to put forward at the present time beyond 

 calling attention to the remarkable resemblance between 

 the leaves of the existing Tetracentron, Cercidophyllum 

 and Trochodendron, and the Patapsco dicotyledons that 

 have been described as Populus, Populophyllum and 

 Celastrophyllum. For example the seedling leaves of 

 Cercidophyllum exhibit the closest similarity in size, form 

 and venation to Populus potomacensis Ward. Not only 

 could additional comparisons be made but it is noteworthy 

 that like remains occur in the Lower Cretaceous of 

 Portugal and Sakhalin Island (Ainuian series) showing 

 that whatever their true nature they were elements in 

 the Holarctic radiation of early Cretaceous dicotyledons. 

 An additional feature exhibited by the Celastrophyllum 

 latifolium and shown in the accompanying figure, is the 

 enclosure of the growing point of the twig within the 

 petiole of the latest formed leaf. This habit is also 

 shown in the form from the Albian stage in Portugal 

 which Saporta described as Adoxa proetavia* This 

 again is a feature exhibited by the existing Trochoden- 

 draceae and also by certain Piperaceae, and would seem to 

 be one that might legitimately be considered as primitive 

 or at least as indicative of relationship. 



A novelty in the present collection is a new species of 

 liverwort, which may be described as follows : 



Marchantites Sewardi sp. nov. 



Vegetative body or frond laminar in form, thalloid, 

 without traces of fruiting bodies. The linear, slightly 

 undulate margined segments fork repeatedly in a dicho- 

 tomous manner and show a thickened midrib-like portion 

 medianly (Figure 2). These rather poorly defined 

 impressions agree closely with recent thalloid Hepaticse 

 of the genus Marchantia and are therefore referred to 

 the genus Marchantites Brongniart (Tableau, p. 12, 

 1849). They are poorly preserved but not uncommon in 

 certain layers where their remains cover slabs of an 

 area of several square inches. Fossil species of Hepa- 

 ticse are such rare fossils that remains of this sort are 

 of the greatest interest even when poorly preserved. 

 None are certainly known from the Paleozoic but at least 

 two species have been described from the Jurassic, namely 



4 Saporta, G. de: Fl. Foss. Portugal, p. 187, pi. 34, fig. 5, 1894. 



