A FOSSIL CAMPTOTHECIUM 



A. J. Grout 



Early in October, 19 16, I received from Mr. B. O. Wolden, of Wallingford. 

 Iowa, a remarkably well preserved moss brought up by a local well-digger from 

 a depth of 80 or 90 feet below the surface in connection with pieces of wood. 

 According to Mr. Wolden this depth is in the Kansan Drift, probably near the 

 bottom of this deposit 



The material is somewhat coated with fine soil, although Mr. Wolden says 

 he washed it out from lumps of earth. Otherwise it might ha ve been collected 

 one hundred days ago instead of having been preserved one hundred thousand 

 years, more or less. The plants are green, although no cell contents are observ- 

 able, and the leaves are perfectly preserved even to all details of cell structure. 

 In fact it seemed so incredible that a moss could have remained so well preserved 

 under such circumstances, that I wrote again to Mr. Wolden asking for additional 

 details. He states that the well-digger, though not an educated man, is accurate 

 and reliable. The moss occurred in a layer of fine sandy clay imbedded between 

 layers of blue clay. He further stated that such an arrangement of soil layers 

 was not unusual at such depths and that this sandy layer often contained plant 

 remains. 



Most conclusive of all is the fact that the plants, while characteristically 

 Camptothecium , belong to no known American species of today and its most 

 closely allied species (C. pinnatifidum) is not found east of the Rockies. 



The moss was dug up in 191 1, and all the fairly abundant material was 

 sterile. For this most interesting plant I propose the name of: 



Camptothecium Woldenii n. sp. Stems slender, fragments at least two 

 inches in length, densely and regularly pinnately branching; leaves broadly 

 lanceolate, slenderly acuminate, entire, strongly pHcate, especially when dry, 

 abruptly but rather slightly narrowed to the insertion; branch leaves 2-2.5X0.75, 

 mm.; median leaf cells long-linear; rounded or quadrate alar cells minute, very 

 few, rarely extending above widest point of the leaf-base. Differs from C. pinna- 

 tifidum and C. aureum in its entire leaves and very few isodiametric alar cells. 



New Dorp, New York City. 



Explanation of Plate I 

 Camptothecium Woldenii Grout, photographed by the author. 



1. Three fragments, X 2. 



2. A portion of one of these fragments, X 5- 

 3- Leaves, X 9- 



ANNUAL REPORTS— SULLIVANT MOSS SOCIETY— 1916 

 Report of the President 



Dr. Evans has been elected Editor of the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical 

 Club, and it has become my duty to report on the activities of the members of 

 this Society. The most remarkable contribution during the year has been the 

 publication of the text for the Moss Atlas of the Natural History of Madagascar, 



