129 
Sassafras Lesquereuxii, sp. nov. 
Plate XI, Fig. 14. 
Sp. Char . — S. foliis. trilobatis, basi decurrentibus, lobis simplicibus, 
inaequalibus, margine remote denticulatis ; nervatione actinodroma ; nervo 
mediano valido, recto, primariis lateralibus subangulis 40-45° orientibus, 
prominentibus, rectis ; nervis secundariis angulo subrecto egredientibus, 
tenuibus approximatis brochidodromis ; tertiariis subangulo recto insertis, 
flcxuosis ramosis, reticulum macrosynammatum formantibus. 
Obs. — Tliough only a mere fragment of the leaf of this species could 
be obtained for examination, yet it was possible to determine the genus, and 
even the group of species related to. Its substance was somewhat thick and 
firm, but barely coriaceous, and its form trilobate. Fortunately just that 
part of the leaf which contains the essential character of its nervation, is 
preserved, namely, from where the lobes begin their divergence. The one 
lateral lobe, proceeding from a lower spot, is 13 millimeters broad ; the other, 
coming from a higher one, is imperfectly preserved, but one can suppose from 
the fragment that it must have been broader than the former. The lamina 
of the leaf is protruded towards the base and somewhat decurrent. The 
borders are, as far as they are discernible, minutely toothed, the teeth being 
distant from one another and turned towards the apex. The nervation shows 
a strong middle primary nerve 2 millimeters broad, from which proceed 
alternately, and rather divergently, two lateral nerves, which are theprimary 
ones of the lobes. They are three times thinner than the middle one, not- 
withstanding their being perfectly prominent. The secondary nerves spring- 
ing off at barely acute or rather right angles of divergence, are thin and 
looped, like those of Sassafras officinale. The tertiary nerves branch, shortly 
after their commencement, into a net of lax meshes, which agrees well with 
that of Sassafras, but less with that of Aralia. 
Itespecting the above-described characters, our fossil is to be considered 
similar to Sassafras cretaceum, Newb., from which it differs by thinner 
secondary nerves diverging at more obtuse angles, and by a finer tertiary net. 
Should one compare both fossil species to the living species of Sassa- 
fras, one arrives at the conclusion that Sassafras Lesquereuxii evidently 
comes nearer in its characters to the latter species than S. cretaceum, a plant 
which would be more correctly classed with Aralia, just as the related species 
of the Dakota Group have previously been placed in Sassafras. But respect- 
lla 67—88 T 
