682 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXXVII. 



Myrica heerii sp. nov. Figs. 7, 8. 



This is one of the finest specimens that I have found in the 

 Matawan formation, consisting of a twig and four attached 

 leaves which are complete except for their apical portions ; the 

 block of clay in which they were found contains several more of 

 these leaves which cannot be uncovered without destroying the 

 specimen figured. The remains indicate a lanceolate leaf 13-14 

 cm. long by 27 cm. in greatest breadth ; base tapering, narrow, 

 gently incurved ; the larger leaves have wide and regular, 

 strongly undulate, almost toothed margins ; two of the leaves 

 are only slightly over one third the size of the larger and have 

 entire margins ; petioles comparatively long and moderately 

 stout ; leaf substance thick, with apparently immersed venation, 

 as only a few secondaries can be made out on the impression of 

 the under side of the largest leaf ; they leave the midrib at a 

 wide angle and are nearly straight almost to the margin where 

 they fork at a wide angle ; their ultimate disposition cannot be 

 made out. The general similarity of size, shape and margin ally 

 these leaves to Myrica. Seven species occur in the underlying 

 Raritan clays, all of which are much smaller except Myrica cniar- 

 ginata Heer which approaches our smaller leaves in size ; it is 

 emarginate however and has entire margins and more ascending 

 secondaries. Three species have been found in the Stat en 

 Island Cretaceous, one of which Myrica hollicki Ward is even 

 larger than our leaf, which it resembles greatly except that the 

 margin is more dentate. This species {hollicki) might be con- 

 sidered ancestral to the widespread Tertiary Myrica banksiafolia 

 Unger which in turn was considered by Lesquereux as the 

 possible ancestor of the living Myrica californica Cham, of the 

 Western United States. The latter might easily be the descend- 

 ant of our Matawan leaf, some specimens seen by me are iden- 

 tical except for their slightly smaller size ; other specimens are 

 more dentate ; no other living species that I have seen so 

 nearly approaches the Matawan species in the character of the 

 undulations of the margin, although nearly all of the Myricaceae 

 are very variable in this respect, the same species often having 

 entire, or undulate, or dentate leaves on the same twig ; this is 



