Fossil Flora from Pagan — Fosberg AND CORWIN 
7 
unless the probable flora were very restricted. 
The fact that the deposits are considered rela- 
tively recent makes reasonable the assump- 
tion that the flora was not much different from 
the present flora of the Marianas. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that any determina- 
tion of material of this sort should be re- 
garded as tentative. In the list that follows, 
those species which were not in any horizon 
represented by fairly well-preserved material 
are indicated by question marks. In the lists 
under the separate sample numbers, species 
not represented in the known present-day 
flora are marked by asterisks. 
Those remains which presented no features 
that could suggest any hope for identification 
have been disregarded. Of the remainder the 
better specimens in all samples have been 
retained for deposit in the U. S. National 
Museum. Of these, all have been identified 
except two. One of these is probably a leaf 
scar of a compound leaf, which has not been 
matched; the other is either a mold of a fruit 
or an impression of a strongly curved or 
distorted leaf. 
In addition to the specimens collected, 
molds of tree trunks, probably Pandanus judg- 
ing from the abundant transverse leaf scars 
surrounding the trunks, were noted in several 
horizons. 
In the following list of species the specimen 
numbers cited immediately below the name 
of each species are made up of the collector’s 
sample number with an arbitrarily added num- 
ber designating material of similar appearance 
in a sample and letters indicating the various 
pieces as labelled for deposit in the U. S. 
National Museum. 
POLYPODIACEAE 
Pteris quadriaurita Retz. 
PC-79-1 (a-f) 
Abundant fragmentary leaf impressions 
showing very clearly the shape and arrange- 
ment of pinnules and fairly complete pinnae 
(Fig. 3). 
This fern is widespread in the western Pa- 
cific and is found on Pagan today It occurs 
in shaded places but at times under relatively 
dry conditions. It is surprising that such a 
delicate plant should be so well preserved. 
PANDANACEAE 
? Frey cine tia mariannensis Merr. 
PC-85-3, PC-79-5 
PC-79-4 (a-k) (?) 
Fragmentary leaf impressions (Fig. 4), very 
difficult to distinguish from those of Pandanus 
tectorius. Leaf veins 10 to 15 per cm., equally 
spaced clear to margin, little or no plication 
apparent, width up to 4 cm. Impressions 
showing neither plication, rolled margins, nor 
crowding of veins toward margins have gen- 
erally been placed here. Some of these, how- 
ever, where the venation is not clear, could 
possibly be Pandanus tectorius . 
This species is found in the well-explored 
parts of the Marianas as far north as Pagan 
Fig. 3. Pteris quadriaurita , fragmentary impression 
of frond showing portion of rachis, pinnae, with 
pinnules. 
