JSf. E. Stevens — New Jersey Palmoxylon. 435 



larger and have thicker walls. No sieve-plates could be dis- 

 covered in any of the sections. Neither conld companion cells 

 be definitely distinguished. It seems probable, however, that 

 the small dark regions close to the sieve-tubes, shown in fig. 24 

 by the shaded areas, occupy the position of companion cells. 

 All the preserved phloem groups were in the larger roots. 



Junction ofoundles of root and stem. — The transition from 

 the solid stem to the root region of variable hardness renders 

 the making of thin sections through the root junctions difficult, 

 the more so because the parenchyma and other tissues in this 

 region have taken on so dark a color that sections of moderate 

 thickness are not very useful. These circumstances prevented 

 satisfactory study of the junction of the root and stem bundles. 



Description of species. 

 Palmoxylon anchorus, sp. nov. 



Locality. — Upper Cretaceous, Seabright, New Jersey. 



Type in Peabody Museum, Yale University. 



Stem. — No bast strands between the fibrovascular bundles. 

 Sclerenchyma portions of the fibrovascular bundles usually oval 

 in cross section and but little indented next the phloem. Little 

 difference in the size and shape of the sclerenchyma portions 

 of the "longitudinal," "transition," and "oblique" bundles. 



Hoots. — Roots considerably branched. Outer cortex com- 

 posed of six to ten layers of elongated, lignified cells. Inner 

 cortex differentiated into three zones : an outer region of thick- 

 walled lignified cells ; a middle zone of lignified parenchyma 

 having numerous large radially arranged air spaces, six to ten 

 times as long as broad, separated by from one to six layers of 

 cells ; and an internal zone of three layers of thin-walled 

 closely packed cells. Endodermis usually one cell thick. 

 Pericycle usually one or locally two layers of cells. The larg- 

 est roots have over fifty protoxylem groups alternating with 

 phloem groups. Internal vessels present in the larger roots 

 and surrounded by a dense region of sclerenchyma six to ten 

 cells in width. 



It is of much interest to append the fact that petrified stems 

 of palms are not the rare objects that their noticeable absence 

 from collections and general lack of mention in paleontologic 

 texts would seem to imply. It is indeed probable that they 



