Axelrod: The Pliocene Verdi Flora of Western Nevada 127 



Pinus prelambertiana n. sp. 



(PI. 18, figs. 9-12) 

 Pinus sp. Dorf, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. 412, p. 71, pi. 9, fig. 1, 1930. 



The specimen figured by Dorf (1930) from the Santa Clara flora, together with 

 supplementary material from the Verdi flora, provides the basis for the following 

 description: 



Description. — Cones up to 21 cm. long, and from 3.5 to 4.0 cm. wide; scales numerous, spirally 

 arranged, the umbos not thickened, distal part of scale broadly tapering, with a subtruncate tip. 

 Needles typically thin, preserved in 3's and 4's but were originally in 5's, up to 5.0 cm. of length 

 preserved ; sheath deciduous. 



Discussion. — As the name indicates, this pine is considered to represent a close 

 forerunner of the modern sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana Douglas, a forest giant 

 that ranges from southern Oregon into southern California, and forms an integral 

 part of the yellow pine-white fir forest. 



A related species in other floras in the nearby region is P. wheeleri Cockerell 

 (Axelrod, 1956), which is represented chiefly by relatively short, slender, 5-needled 

 fascicles. The occasional occurrence of seeds in association with needles of P. 

 wheeleri which are smaller than those produced by the living P. lambertiana, but 

 of the size of those formed by P. monticola Douglas, suggests P. wheeleri Cockerell 

 is more nearly related to the latter. 



Occurrence.— Santa Clara, Calif.: U.C. Mus. Pal. (loc. P160), holotype no. 309; 

 Verdi, Nev.: U.C. Mus. Pal. (loc. P102), hypotypes nos. 1976-1978. 



Pinus pretuberadata Axelrod 

 (PI. 18, figs. 3-4, 11-13) 



Pinus pretuberculata Axelrod, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. 476, p. 166, pi. 3, figs. 3, 4, 1937; 

 Condit, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. 553, p. 74, pi. 14, fig. 1, 1944. 



Three impressions of cones representing the closed-cone pine group are in the 

 Verdi collections. Their close relationship to cones of the living P. tubercidata 

 Gordon (=P. attenuata Lemmon) was revealed by making casts of the molds. As 

 illustrated on plate 18, they show the typical tuberculate umbos that are so char- 

 acteristic of the living species. Fascicles of a 3-needled pine are also relatively 

 common in the flora. They are assigned to P. pretuberculata rather than to P. 

 florissanti Lesquereux because the needles are generally shorter and more slender 

 than those produced by yellow pine, and the sheath is deciduous rather than per- 

 sistent. 



Ranging from southern Oregon southward through California in the Coast 

 Ranges and on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada into southern California, the 

 living P. tubercidata is commonly found on rocky sites near the lower margins of 

 forest adjacent to woodland and chaparral vegetation. Many of its associates in the 

 southern parts of its area have close representatives in the Verdi flora. 



Occurrence. — Verdi, Nev.: U.S. Nat. Museum; U.C. Mus. Pal. (loc. P102), 

 hypotypes nos. 1972-1975; homeotype no. 1971. 



