1554 PHANEROGAMS. 



genus Maytenus. Whether the Hippocrateacece and Pittosporeacece 

 occur fossil is uncertain, although Tertiary plants from Styria 

 have been referred to Hippocratea and others from Provence to 

 Pittosporum. 



In the AquifoliacecB the genus Ilex, typically represented by the 

 Holly, is abundantly represented throughout the Tertiaries, and is 

 also recorded from the Cretaceous of both hemispheres, commencing 

 in the Dakota stage. The extensive family of the Rhamnacecz has 

 afforded ample proof of its existence in earlier periods ; thus the Old 

 World genus Paliurus, and the tropical Zizyphus (Jujube) both date 

 from the Cretaceous and persist in Europe till the Pliocene. In 

 the Laramie Cretaceous and the European Tertiary we have the 

 existing American genus Be?rhemia ; while other plants from the 

 Laramie have been made the types of an extinct genus Rhamnites. 

 Finally, the genus Rhamnus (Buckthorn), mainly characteristic of 

 the northern temperate zone, can be traced back to the Upper Cre- 

 taceous of the Old and New Worlds. The last family of this order 

 is the Vitacece, in which we find Cissus, of the tropics, recorded from 

 the Miocene of Croatia and elsewhere ; allied Cretaceous forms de- 

 scribed as Cissites and Chondrophyllum ; while Vitis (Vine) itself is 

 known to date as far back as the Laramie Cretaceous. 



Order 13. Tricocoe. — Of this order, which includes the 

 Euphorbiacece (Spurges), Buxacece (Box), and Empetracece, the 

 palaeontological history is almost a blank ; the first family being un- 

 known in a fossil state, the second dating from the Pliocene, and 

 the third from the Pleistocene. 



Order 14. Umbelliflor^e. — The occurrence of the typical 

 family UmbellifercE, of which Parsley is a well-known representative, 

 in a fossil state is doubtful, but the other two families are commonly 

 represented. Thus in the Araliacece Panax occurs in the Mio- 

 cene, and has also been recorded from the Upper Cretaceous ; while 

 Aralia also dates from the same epoch and was abundant in the 

 Eocene ; and Hedera (Ivy) is first known from the early period of 

 the Dakota stage. Finally, in the Cornacece. the typical genus Cornus 

 (Cornel) together with Nyssa make their appearance in the Upper 

 Cretaceous. 



Orders 15, Saxifragin^e; 16, Opuntin^e; 17, Passiflorin^e. — 

 Of these three orders the second is totally unknown in a fossil state, 

 while the only trace of the third (Passion-flowers) is afforded by 

 some exceedingly doubtful leaves from the Oligocene. In the first, 

 however, the family Hamamelidacece is represented in the European 

 Miocene by species of the existing Asiatic genus Parrotia, and by 

 the extinct Ha?namelites of the Lower Eocene of Sezanne, while 

 Liquidambar (Sweet-gum) dates from the Cretaceous of Europe and 

 the United States, the Cretaceous species having the leaves with 

 entire margins. 



