Axelrod: The Pliocene Verdi Flora of Western Nevada 



111 



shrubs in the summer-wet sections of southwestern North America, are not now 

 known in the Verdi flora. 



Summarizing, it is apparent that the Verdi flora is dominated by riparian- and 

 lake-border vegetation, that conifer forest had only a restricted occurrence in the 

 lowlands, and that oak woodland also was rare at the site of deposition. The Verdi 

 species, representing both the Arcto-Tertiary and Madro-Tertiary geofloras, 

 closely resemble plants still living in the nearby area and in adjacent California. 



TABLE 4 

 Distribution of Living Woody Plants Related to Verdi Species 



Living plants similar to Verdi species 



Areas of present occurrence 



Truckee River 

 valley near 

 Verdi area 



Lower western 

 slopes, central 

 Sierra Nevada 



Mountains 

 of southern 

 California 



Abies concolor 



Arctostaphylos nevadensis . 



Ceanothus cuneatus 



Pinus attenuata 



Pinus lambertiana 



Pinus ponderosa 



Populus tremula davidiana. 



Populus tremuloides 



Populus trichocarpa 



Populus emarginata 



Quercus engelmannii 



Quercus lobata 



Quercus wislizenoides 



Ribes roezlii 



Salix gooddingii 



Salix scouleriana 



X 



x 



X 

 X 



(n 



X 

 X 

 X 



X 

 X 



X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 ortheastern As 

 X 

 X 

 X 



X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 



X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 



ia) 



X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 

 X 



Number of species . 

 Per cent of flora. . . 



9 

 56 



14 

 87 



15 



93 



Note: The three aquatics (Potamogetnn, Chara, N ymphaeites) are excluded from consideration here for they occur 

 in all the areas and have little paleoecologic significance other than indicating standing water-bodies. 



PALEOECOLOGY 



By analyzing the ecologic occurrence and distribution of the living species most 

 similar to the Verdi plants it is possible to reconstruct the vegetation and climate of 

 the Verdi basin, and to relate them to the topographic setting which has been sug- 

 gested by the geologic evidence. Table 4 has been assembled to facilitate this survey 

 of modern vegetation related to the fossil flora. It shows that 9 (56 per cent) of the 

 16 woody plants have close counterparts living within 2 to 3 miles of the fossil 

 locality. Some of them, including Pinus ponderosa, Populus trichocarpa, Primus 

 emarginata, Ribes roezlii, and Salix scouleriana, occur on the banks of the Truckee 

 River within 200 to 300 yards of the fossil locality. They are regular members of 

 the Sierran forest, which covers the lower mountain slopes directly west and south 

 of the locality, as shown in figure 1, plate 13. They have descended into the semi- 



