Berry — An Eocene Ancestor of the Zapodilla. 211 



be seen that the environment indicated offers no difficulties in 

 the interpretation of the fossil seed as representing a 

 progenitor of the existing zapote (sapote) and zapodilla 

 (sapodilla). The former is now predominantly an upland 

 form while the latter is not. The fossil records of the family 

 Sapotaceae may now be briefly passed in review. The family 

 contains about 32 genera and nearly four hundred existing 

 species of all tropical countries. About half of the existing 

 species are American. There are eleven genera confined to 

 America, seven to Africa, three to Australia, two to New Cale- 

 donia, two to Asia and Malayasia, two to Malayasia, and one to 

 Asia. The three large genera, Sideroxylon, Chrysophyllon, and 

 Mimusops, are represented in all tropical countries. There are 

 four genera and twelve species represented in the Lower Eocene 

 flora of the Mississippi embay ment. The largest of these 

 genera is Bumelia Swartz with six well-marked species. The 

 genus Bumelia with about a score of existing species is 

 confined to America, ranging from the southern United States 

 through the West Indies and Central America to Brazil. It 

 has numerous fossil species, the oldest coming from the Upper 

 Cretaceous (Dakota sandstone) of the western interior. In 

 addition to the six American Lower Eocene species which are 

 the prototypes of still existing forms, there are two Eocene 

 species ( Ypresian) in southern England. There are about a dozen 

 Oligocene species, ten of which are widespread in Europe, one 

 is found in the Apalachicola Group of western Florida, and 

 two forms, represented by both leaves and fruit, are found 

 in the Yicksburg Group of Louisiana and Texas. There are 

 seven or eight Miocene species widely distributed in Europe 

 and one is recorded from the late Miocene of Colorado 

 (Florissant). 



The genus Chrysophyllum Linne, with about 60 existing 

 species found in all tropical countries, but the majority being 

 American, has a supposed species in the Upper Cretaceous of 

 Saxony (Niederschcena)-; a well-marked species in the American 

 Lower Eocene ; three Oligocene and six Miocene species in 

 Europe and a species in the Tertiary of Colombia. 



The genus Mimusops Linn6, with about 40 existing species 

 in all tropics, has three well-marked species in the Lower 

 Eocene of the Mississippi embayment and a fourth in the 

 Middle Eocene of the same area. To it has been referred 

 a form from the Upper Cretaceous of Saxony (Niederschoena) 

 and it is undoubtedly represented in the Upper Cretaceous of 

 the embayment region as well as elsewhere by the leaves that 

 have been referred to the form-genus Sapotacites. 



The genus Sideroxylon Linne, with about 80 existing species 

 in the oriental tropics and about fifteen species in the American 



