104 YasuL — A Fossil Wood of Sequoia 
canals occur in both the living species of Sequoia and that they are due to 
injury. 1 
The structure of our wood as described above, particularly the pitting 
of the ray cells, the distribution of the so-called ‘ resin cells ’, the presence 
of ‘bars of Sanio’, and above all the phenomenon of traumatic resin canals, 
points strongly to an affinity with the living 5 . semper virens. Many species 
have been described as ancestral to or closely related to 6*. sempervirens 
(the Redwood of the Californian coast range). In 1899 Knowlton gave an 
account of magnifica as a fossil form from the Yellowstone National 
Park, and expressed the opinion that it was the ancestor of 5 . sempervirens , 
but saw no traumatic resin canals in his material. 2 N. Langsdorfii has been 
elucidated from its vegetative habit for both the European and American 
Tertiary, and it is recognized as the prototype of the living N. sempervirens . 
In 1908 Penhallow described N. albertensis as a lignitoid specimen form of the 
Edmonton series of Canada, and called attention to its close resemblance to 
the existing S'. sempei'virejis. It is of interest that although he had 
previously recognized the occurrence of vertical resin canals in the wood of 
the living Redwood, and had even noted horizontal canals in another fossil 
species, he failed to observe anything of the kind in S'. albertensis . 3 With 
the exception of the three species mentioned, we have no really conclusive 
diagnosis of woods of extinct species of Sequoia . In the three species 
regarded as probably correctly assigned to the genus on the basis of 
ligneous diagnosis, S. magnifica and N. albertensis have not yet been shown 
to produce traumatic resin canals, and by this defect of diagnosis are still 
somewhat in a dubious position systematically. It accordingly appears that 
vS. Langsdoifii (as defined by Penhallow) is on the whole the best authenti- 
cated Mesozoic Sequoia , although the original diagnosis supplies us with no 
information as to the important feature of the lateral pitting of the ray cells. 
A comparison with 5 . sempervirens and N. Langsdorfii indicates that 
our fossil has a somewhat closer relationship with 5 . sempervirens than the 
other species. Because it is a fossil and its geographical occurrence is 
remote from that of the living Redwood (N. sempervirens) , it seems advisable 
to assign a new specific name after its place of origin. 
The diagnosis of Sequoia hondoensis , sp. nov., is as follows : 
Transverse . Growth rings clearly defined ; transition from spring 
to summer wood somewhat abrupt ; summer wood very prominent, and 
of from two to ten tracheides in breadth. Spring wood very open and with 
thin-walled tracheides. Resin cells prominent and scattered throughout 
1 Jeffrey, E. C. : The Comparative Anatomy and Phylogeny of the Coniferales. Part I. The 
Genus Sequoia . Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. v, No. 10, Nov. 1903. 
2 Knowlton, F. H. : Description of Known Fossil Plants from the Laramie of the Yellowstone 
National Park. Mon. U. S. Geol. Surv., No. xxxii, Part'll, p. 761, PI. CXL, 1899. 
3 Penhallow, D. P. : Report on a Collection of Fossil Woods from the Cretaceous of Alberta. 
The Ottawa Naturalist, vol. xxii, No. 4, July, 1908. 
