﻿300 
  Berry 
  — 
  Middle 
  Eocene 
  Member 
  of 
  the 
  "Sea 
  Drift" 
  

  

  those 
  of 
  floral 
  structure, 
  degree 
  of 
  buoyancy 
  of 
  the 
  seeds, 
  and 
  

   manner 
  of 
  dehiscence 
  of 
  the 
  fruit, 
  characters 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  

   fossil 
  sheds 
  but 
  little 
  light. 
  The 
  seed 
  coat 
  of 
  Carapa 
  is 
  woody 
  

   while 
  that 
  of 
  Xylocarpus 
  is 
  corky 
  and 
  consequently 
  more 
  

   buoyant 
  and 
  better 
  adapted 
  for 
  dispersal 
  by 
  ocean 
  currents. 
  

   In 
  this 
  feature 
  the 
  fossil 
  seed 
  seems 
  more 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  Xylo- 
  

   carpus. 
  In 
  form 
  Xylocarpus 
  seeds 
  are 
  somewhat 
  more 
  

   regularly 
  pyramidal 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  Carapa 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  respect 
  

   also 
  the 
  fossil 
  is 
  more 
  like 
  Xylocarpus, 
  especially 
  the 
  oriental 
  

   mangrove 
  Xylocarpus 
  ooovatus, 
  a 
  seed 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  

   tig. 
  lb. 
  

  

  However, 
  in 
  considering 
  an 
  American 
  Tertiary 
  form 
  and 
  

   recalling 
  that 
  Carapa 
  is 
  much 
  the 
  better 
  known 
  generic 
  term 
  

   even 
  for 
  the 
  oriental 
  mangrove 
  and 
  other 
  modern 
  species 
  of 
  

   both 
  Carapa 
  and 
  Xylocarpus, 
  and 
  that 
  Carapa 
  is 
  represented 
  

   by 
  foliage 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  Eocene 
  (Wilcox) 
  flora 
  of 
  this 
  general 
  

   region,* 
  it 
  seems 
  advisable 
  to 
  adopt 
  the 
  generic 
  term 
  Carapa 
  

   for 
  the 
  fossil, 
  since 
  it 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  more 
  closely 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  

   oriental 
  mangrove 
  Xylocarpus 
  obovata 
  Blume 
  or 
  the 
  oriental 
  

   beach 
  plant 
  Xylocarpus 
  moluccensis 
  Lamarck 
  than 
  to 
  the 
  half 
  

   dozen 
  existing 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  and 
  west 
  African 
  

   tropics. 
  The 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  massive 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  

   various 
  existing 
  species 
  in 
  our 
  larger 
  herbaria 
  is 
  my 
  excuse 
  for 
  

   not 
  making 
  more 
  detailed 
  comparisons 
  between 
  them 
  and 
  the 
  

   present 
  fossil 
  form. 
  

  

  The 
  locality 
  where 
  the 
  fossil 
  was 
  collected 
  is 
  2£ 
  miles 
  east 
  

   of 
  Fort 
  Gaines, 
  Clay 
  County, 
  Georgia, 
  and 
  it 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  

   marine 
  clays 
  of 
  the 
  middle 
  Eocene 
  (Claiborne). 
  The 
  fossil 
  is 
  

   shown 
  natural 
  size 
  in 
  fig. 
  la 
  and 
  a 
  somewhat 
  larger 
  seed 
  of 
  the 
  

   oriental 
  Xylocarpus 
  obovata 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  fig. 
  lb. 
  

  

  Johns 
  Hopkins 
  University, 
  

   Baltimore. 
  

  

  * 
  Berry, 
  op. 
  cit., 
  p. 
  253, 
  pi. 
  55, 
  fig, 
  4. 
  

  

  