REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN IUVER FORMATION, WITH 

DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 

By F. H. :KNOW~TON. 

ffiE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 

The Green River shales, later known as the 

Green River formation, were nained and described by F. V. Hayden in 1869.1 After discussing the coal and lignite beds along the 

Union Pacific Railroad in western Wyoming, 

Hayden says: 

A little east of Rock Spring station a new group commences composed of thinly laminated chalky shales,. which 

I have called the Green River shales, because they . are 

best displayed along Green River. They are evidently 

of purely fresh-water origin and of middle Tertiary age. 

The layers are nearly horizontal and, as shown in the valley 

of Green River, present a peculiarly banded appearance. 

When carefully studied these shales will form one of the 

most interesting groups in the West. The flora is already 

very extensive, and the fauna consists of Melanias; Corhulas, and vast quantities of fresh-water fishes. There 

ani also numerous insects and other small undetermined 

fossils in the asphaltic slates. One of the marked features 

of this group is the great amount of combustible or petroleum shales, some portions of which burn with great readiness and have been used for fuel in stoves. 

The decade that followed the naming and defining of the Green River shales as a formational unit by Hayden was one of increased 

geologic study in the West, with the result that 

these beds were recognized and more or less 

fully described at a number of widely separated 

points. Thus Peale 2 recognized the Green 

River group, as he called it, between Grand 

(now Colorado) and Gunnison rivers in Colorado; Powell 3 noted it along the northern foothills of the Uinta Mountains, distinguishing a 

"Lower" and "Upper" Green River; Emmons/ who was connected with the Fortieth 

Parallel Survey, described it very fully · for the 

Green River Basin; Peale 5 found it along the 

1 U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Third Ann. Rept. (rep rint, 1873), p.190. · 

2 Peale, A. C., U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1874, 

pp. 147, 156-158, 1876. 

a Powell, J. W., Geology of the Uinta Mountains, pp. 40, 45, 166, 167, 

1876. 

4 Emmons, S. F., U.S. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., v'ol. 2, pp. 203,240,1877. 

o Peale, A. C., U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1876, 

p. 184, 1878. 

Book Cliffs in western Colorado; White 6 studied 

it in western Colorado and eastern Utah; End- . I 

lich 7 · described its occurrence along White 

River in western Colorado and south of the 

Wind River Mount~insin Wyoming; 8 and Peale9 

noted it in the northern and western· parts of 

the Green River Basin. 

One 'Of the most complete of the earlier accounts of the Green River formation is that 

given by Emmons 10 in his description of . the 

Green River Bask. Three Tertiary formations-or "series," as they were then calledwere recognized, the oldest of which was the 

Wasatch formation (nearly the same as the 

~' Vermillion Creek group" of King and the 

upper part of the "Bitter Creek series" of 

Powell). Above this, without apparent discordance, was the Green River formation, 

which in turn was overlain by the Bridger 

formation. 

. The ·Green Riv~r beds were described by 

Emmons as follows: 

The beds of the Green River series contrast with those 

of the other two groups by -the relative prevalence of 

calcare~us material and the fineness of their sediments. 

They were deposited lin quiet, probably deeper waters 

and perhaps during the time that erosion .was wearing 

away the limestones of the Upper Coal Measures. They 

consist of a lower series of calcareous sandstones and 

impure limestones, containing some lignite seams, ~werlain by a great thickness of remarkably fissile .calcareous 

shales _abounding in remains of fish and insects, which 

reach an aggregate thickness of about 2,000 feet and are 

characterized throughout by their prevailing white color. 

The extent of the sea in which these beds were deposited 

was somewhat less th:;m that of the previous period, a 

strip .of land having been elevated above its level along 

the flanks of the Wasatch, and probably also a narrower 

strip along the shores of the Park Range; its beds, however, were deposited dontinuously' over the ridge of Vermillion Creek Wasatch beds, between the Bitter Creek 

s White, C. A., idem, pp. 19-35. 

1 Endlich, F. :M:., idem, p. 1111. 

s Idem for 1877, p. 130; 1879. 

9 Peale, A. C., idem, p. 525. 

10 Emmons, S. F., U.S.. xpl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 2, pp. 203,240, 

etc., 1877. ' 

133 
134 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Cretaceous uplif~ and the Archean body of Red Creek, 

a~d als? ~onnected, through the low gap of the White 

RIVer d.IVlde, at the eastern end of the Uinta Range, with 

the region to the south, in which beds corresponding to 

these and to the Bridger beds have been recognized 

although their direct connection has not yet been traced. ' 

It is no~ within the scope of the present 

paper .to give a complete review of the literature relating to the Green River formation 

but simply enough to show· its areal distribu~ tion and . physical characteristics that may 

serve as a setting for the discussion of its flora 

.and fauna. From data obtained within the 

· first dozen years after it was formally recoO'-

nized by Hayden and abundantly confirm:d 

by subsequent investigators, the Green River 

formation is known to extend from the headwater region of Green River in the Wind River 

Mountains, Wyo., southward to Grand Mesa 

bet':een Colorado and Gunnison rivers, Colo.: 

a distance of approximately 300 miles. The 

western limit of the formation is rather sharply 

defined, for it abuts on the eastern foothills of 

the Wasatch Mountains. The eastern limits 

howev~r'. are less sharp. Emmons expressed 

the opimon that the formation originally extended to t~e western slopes of the Park Range, 

but the evidence for this opinion is not conclusive. The Green River formation was not 

recognized by E. E. Smith11 in his study of the 

eastern part of the Great Divide coal field 

though the Wasatch formation, with thick~ nesses ranging between 900 and 1 800 feet is ' ' present there, nor was it definitely identified 

by M. W. Ball12 in his study of the western 

part of the Little -Snake River coal field 

though it may be represented in some un~ differentiated beds above the Wasatch formation. The Green River formation is said by 

A. R. Schultz13 to extend over the north end of 

the Rock Springs uplift and out into the Red 

Desert to a point about 20 miles southeast of 

the Antelope Hills. It is also present at the 

south end of the Rock Springs uplift, along the 

divide between Sage and Red creeks. It thus 

appears that in all probability these beds once 

covered· a large part of the Great Divide Basin 

and the Red Desert .but were later removed 

by erosion. In any event, it seems fairly well 

established that the maximum width of the 

area once covered in wh~le or in part by the 

n U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 341, p. 220, 1909. 

12 Idem, p. 243. 

13 U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 702. p . 24, 1920. 

Green River formation was little if any less 

than 150 miles. 

As already mentioned, Powell divided the 

Green River fqrmation into a "Lower Green 

River" and an "Upper Green River." The 

latest report in which these beds are discussed 

~s that by A. R. Schultz 14 on the area around 

the Rock Springs uplift, in Sweetwater County, 

Wyo. Schultz recognizes four members of the 

Green River formation, w.hich in ascending 

orde~ ~re as follows: (1) Tipton shale member, 

consisting of fissile shale, conglomerate oolitic 

limestone, sbale, clay, and sandsto~e; (2) 

Cathedral Bluffs red-beds member, composed 

of red or varicolored conglomeratic sandstone, 

shale, and clay; (3) Laney shale member, made 

up of white and green fissile shale, limestone, 

and sandstone, "similar to those so characteristic of the lower member or Tipton shale of 

the Green River in this part of the field and 

to the entire Green River formation in other 

parts of the Green River Basin;" ( 4) "Tower 

sandstone" and plant beds of Powell which . ' consist of massive, regularly bedded sandstone 

sandy limestone, and shale. ' 

Just how far these proposed subdivisions of 

~he Green River formation can be recognized 

m other parts of the vast area over which it 

extends is not now known, though some subdivision is undoubtedly possible. The earliest 

known and most thoroughly exploited of the 

plant-bearing beds are along the Union Pacific 

Railroad 2 or 3 miles west of the town of Green 

River, where, according to Hayden, Ward, and 

others, they occur about 100 feet above the 

fish beds. This places their position some 

hundreds of feet below the "·Tower sandstone" 

that is so well exposed at the town of Green 

River. Powell and others who have followed 

him seem to be in error in speaking of the plant 

beds as overlying the "Tower sandstone." 

It seems rather remarkable, in view of the 

thickness and areal extent of the Green River 

formation, that it has been .found to be fossiliferous at so few localities. Endlich remarked 

on this peculiarity many years ago, pointing 

out that it was possible to follow these beds 

for miles without finding a .trace of animal or -

plant life. There is such an area north of 

Rock Springs, Wyo., where beds hundreds of 

feet in thickness are seemingly well fitted to 

preserve any forms of life that may have been 

14 Idem, pp. 24-31. 
REVISION OF THE .FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATTON. 135 

present in the region, and yet so far as known I On his way back from the field in 1870 Haythey are absolutely barren of fossils.

1 

The den passed over . t. he old overland stage route, 

suggestion that these beds may ·have ·been which -follows Bitter Creek nearly to its head, 

deposited in deep water far from $ore does crosses the Red Desert, and thence · goes 

not fully explain their barrenness, for e~en if through Bridger Pass to the L~ramie Plains. 

they were it would seem that they should con- THE OIL SHALE AND ITS MICROSCOPIC FLORA 

tain a few specimens: · AND THE BEARING OF THE FLORA ON THE 

So far as now known the first fossil form from ORIGIN OF THE SHALE OIL. 

the Green River formation to be brought to 

.scientific attention was a . small herrin~-like 

fish described by Joseph Leidy 15 in 1856, under 

the name Olupea humilis, later changed to 

Diplomystus humilis. It was collected by Dr. 

John Evans, who visited the Rocky Mountain 

region in 1849 and 1856, from the so-called 

.fish beds near the town of Green River and was 

the forerunner of thousands of wonderfully 

preserved fish remains that have since been 

.found. _ 

As already stated, Hayden named the Green 

The intensive search for sources of petroleum that is now being prosecuted in many 

parts of the world has naturally directed renewed attention to the oil shales of the Green 

River formation, which are known to occur 

over vast areas in Wyoming, Colorad·o, and 

Utah. ·According to Winchester/ 7 

Approximately 5,500 square miles in northwestern Colorado and northEilastern Utah are underlain by beds ofoil 

shale thick enough to mine and apparently rich enough to 

warrant the development of an industry for the manufacture of shale oil and other products. 

River formation in 1869, and at that time he Concerning the origin of the shale oil Winmentioned the presence of" an extensive flora," chester ~ wrote as follows: 

but it is not a matter of record that he brought 

.actual specimens to Washington. However, 

Hayden again visited the plant and fish beds 

near Green River during the summer of 1870, 

The Green River formation or that part of it including 

the oil shales consists of remarkably persistent and thinly 

bedded shales with some sandstone and at_ places oo~ite and 

limestone. The beds were Ia.id down in fresh -water which 

had an enormous expanse and was deep enough so that 

writing as follows: 16 . wave actidn had little effect on the sediments. The shale . 

About a mile west of the "petrified fish bed" is a cut 

.along the railroad which passes through a moderate thickness of buff chalky limestones, filled with impressions of 

]eaves of deciduous ·plants. 

These plants were submitted to J. S. ]Newberry, and his preliminary report in the f9rm of 

.a letter was published by Hayden in the ~eport 

-cited. The collection comprised only rbout 

:half a dozen forms sufficiently well preserved 

to be capable of identification, and of these he 

·wrote as follows: 

Among them I find two palms, both quite unlike any-

-thing before found on this continent. One is a net Phoe-

·nicites, resembling Heer's Manicaria formosa; the other 

but an imperfect fragment, yet altogether new and ~trange 

io me. The most abundant species contained in the collection is a Magnol1:a , allied to M. tenuinervis Lesq~ereux 

but more elongate and acute; also an oak ·resembling · 

Quercus saffordi of Lesquereux. There is another oak in 

the collection, a laurel (probably), and fragments of two 

ierns, too imperfect for determination. 

This account of the Green River flork., al-

-though relatively unimportant, is so f~r as 

known the first one published. I 

1s Philadelphia Acad. Nat. Sci. Proc., vol. 8, p . 256, 1856. 

16 -Hayden, F. V., U.S. Geol. Survey Wyoming Prelim. Rept., p. 143, 

~871. 

is in most places free from grit and contains an immense 

amount of vegetable matter; the richer beds show by far 

the greater amount of such material. Singularly enough, 

such low plant forms as the blue-green algae are represented 

in great abundance and in a state of almost perfect preservation. Pollen grains are present which came from C0niferous trees which grew on land perhaps at considerable 

distances from the gre~t iniand lake in which the shale was 

deposited. There is also a vast amountof organic material 

which is too macerated for identification. Complete 

insects and excellently preserved dipterous larvae as well 

as fish scales and even perfect fish skeletons have been 

found, but in most hand specimens of the shale there is 

little evidence of other plant life. 

The microscopic life, especially plant life, of 

the Green River1 oil shale, and its probable 

bearing on the origin of the oil, were under 

critical study by the late C. A. Davis, of the 

U. S. Bureau of Mines, and many valuable 

data have been accumulated, but his death in 

1915 brought the study to a close before much 

had. been recorded. A great number of thin 

sections and other especially prepared material 

had been brought together, and a_ few months 

more of study would have placed the subject 

17 Winchester, D. E., Oil shale in the United States: Econ. Geology, 

vol. 13, ·p. 508, 1917. 

1s Idem, p. 510. 
136 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

on a firm basis. As it is, the only recorded 

facts resulting from this study are in the form 

of the following notes prepared by Davis for 

Winc~est~r's paper: 

Flora ·of the oil shale of the Green River formation. 

(a) Bacteria, Crenothrix, and similar low filamentous 

types. 

(b) Myophyceae: Blue-green algae. 

(c) Algae: ( 1) Protococcaceae : Protococcus, P ediastrum. 

(2) Conjugatae: Sp1~rogyra. 

(d) Fungi: Saprophytic molds, etc. 

(e) Mosses: Spores probably from these plants. 

(f) Pteridophyta: Ferns; annuli fro·m fern sporangia. 

--(g) Spermatophyta: · 

·(1) Gymnospermae: Pinaceae; pollen of Picea and 

Pinus. · 

(2) Angiospermae: Pollen and fragments of cells, 

tissues, etc. Bark cells and residues, small 

pieces poorly preserved. In addition there 

are abundant and well-preserved remains 

which are of good size a.nd of fu-equent occurrence, which seem to be structureless so far 

as cellular structures are concerned. However, they have definite and pretty regular 

forms and, in Dictyonophora, dennite areas 

which carry well-marked and characteristic 

patterns which seem like cells but which 

show no cell walls. These anomalous forms 

seem to have been the most abundant 

organisms in the waters in which the shales 

were laid down and are evidently vegetables 

of a low order of development. They are 

manifestly in place as they grew, since they 

do not show in pressed down masses but 

were buried in natural positions, very 

slowly. · 

The bearing of this microscopic flora on the 

origin of the shale oil is. further discussed by 

Davis in notes quoted by Winchester but need 

not be mentioned here further than to state 

that the evidence seems to indicate that the 

oil was produced in place and not by migration 

from some other source. 

GREEN RIVER LAKE. 

The Green River lake was a very considerable 

body of water, as its length from north to south 

was approximately 300 miles and its width 

more than 150 miles. It is not known that 

this maximum extent was reached at any one 

time, but at some time during its existence its 

waters spread in one direction or another to 

these wide-flung limits. It was bordered on 

the north and west by what are now lofty 

mountain ranges, though they were then of 

far less elevation. Its containing barriers on 

the east and south are less easily recognizable 

but were apparently · certain low-lying Cretaceous and perhaps earlier rocks that were 

then emergent. It may have extended as far 

as the western foothills of the Park Range, 

but this is somewhat uncertain. The lak.e 

was almost bisected by what are now the 

Uinta Mountains, but it is clear that there was 

a waterway around the east end of the Uinta 

Range through Brown's Park. Clarence King's 

conception of the physical conditions that existed in and adjacent to the Green River Basin. 

·during early Eocene time was set forth in the 

volume devoted to the general geology of the 

region· traversed by the Fortieth Parallel Survey under his direction. Among the subjects. 

discussed are the supposed Tertiary lakes in. 

that region.19 King pointed out that at the 

end of Cretaceous time "the relative upheaval 

of the whole Rocky Mountain chain and the 

west shore of the Cretaceous sea, including the 

system of the Wahsatch and its northerly extension, resulted in walling in the system of the 

Colorado River, which then for the first time 

became an area from which the sea was quite 

excluded." 

The Wasatch and Rocky mountains con-· 

verge . toward the north and join n~ar the 

present headwaters of Green River, but toward. 

the south they diverge more and more until 

in southern Colorado and New Mexico they 

are 500 miles or more apart. It was within. 

the area inclosed by these mountain systems, 

but more especially in the northern part, 

largely in what is now the Green River Basin, 

that King located his suc.cession of Tertiary 

lakes. The earliest of these lakes, according 

to his conception, was a great body of fresh_ 

water that extended 150 miles north of the 

40th parallel and, from some evidence, for 

200 miles to the south and was perhaps 150· 

miles wide. For this lake he proposed the nameUte Lake. According to King it was in the 

waters of this lake that the great body of 

sediments were deposited that later con-· 

stituted the Wasatch formation. 

Subsequent study has more or less dis-· 

credited King's conclusion as to the lacustrine 

origin of the . Wasatch rocks, many observers 

regarding them as more probably flood-plain 

deposits. Be this as it may, at the end of 

Wasatch time there was a subsidence that. 

19 King, Clarence, U.S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 1, pp. 444-

448, 1878. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF TI_IE 1 GREEN RIVER FORMAT10N. 137 

permitted a wider overflow of impounded 

waters. It was in this body of water, named 

Gosiute Lake by King, that the sediment~ of 

the Green River formation were laid down. 

Whatever may be the origin of . the Wasatch 

sediments, all are apparently agreed that the 

Green River shales are of lacustrine origin. 

King says: 

As developed at characteristic localities in the neighborhood of Green River, this group embraces about 2,000 

feet of conformable fine-grained rocks, giving general 

evidence of accumulation in still, rather deep water. 

The lower 1,200 feet are made up of finely fissile shales and . 

calcareous clays, wit h some quite fine limestones. Many 

of the upper shales are strongly bituminous. 

The position of the outlet of Green River 

lake is not known, though it was doubtless 

somewhere to the south or southwest. It 

seems not unli~ely that it followed approximately the present Colorado River drainage 

system, as its surplus waters undoubtedly 

found their way into the Pacific Ocean. 

If the deductions to be drawn from the fish 

faun·a have been correctly interpreted the 

lake was at a comparatively slight elevation 

above sea level. Data regarding this fauna 

furnished by Dr. 0. P. Hay, of the United 

States National Museum, show that about 

35 fairly well a"lithenticated species of fish 

are known from the Green River shales. Three 

families, represented in this fauna by four 

genera and eight species, have pronounced 

marine affiliations. Thus the Clupeidae, 

which include the very large group of herrings, 

are represented by three genera and six 

species. · The herrings to-day are mainly confined to the ocean, though some ascend rivers 

to sp~wn, and a few live in rivers. The sting 

rays, represented by a fine, clearly defined 

species (Heliobatis radians) in the Green 

.River, are mainly marine, though a few forms 

live in rivers. A third family is also represented by a single species, the living representatives of which are found in estuaries and rivers 

of Australia. 

From these facts it seems certain that the 

sea was not far away from the Green River lake 

or at least was readily accessible. Cope,20 who 

described most of the Green River fishes, says: 

True herring, or those ·with teeth, are chiefly marine, but 

they run into fresh-water rivers and deposit their spawn 

in the spring of the year and then return to salt water. The 

2ocope,· E. D., U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 

1870, p. 431, 1871. 

young run down to the sea in autumn and remain there 

until old enough to spawn. The size of the fry of the 

Rocky Mountain herring indicates that they had not long 

left the spawning ground, while the abundance of adults 

suggests that 1they were not far from salt water, their 

native element. To believe, then, that the locality from 

which these specimens were taken was neither far from 

fresh nor far from salt waters is reasonable. 

Osborn in discussing the Green River fishes 

in his "Age of mammals," says in part: 

A large part of the teliosts are related to fishes at present confined to the Eastern Hemisphere. Thus the 

diplomystids ("rough-backed herrings") survive only 

in certain rivers and along :portions of the coasts of Chile 

and eastern Australia. 

The distance from the . Green River lake 

to the ocean can only be approximated, though 

it must have been some hundreds of miles. 

This distance, however, would not have been 

a serious obstacle to the passsage of fish from 

one to the other, provided, of course, there 

were no insurmountable falls or other obstructions in the stream. Salmon are known to 

ascend to the upper waters of the Yukon to 

spawn, a distance of 2,250 miles. 

About a dozen species of land and freshwater invertebrates (Helix, Physa·, Viviparus, 

Pupa, Unio, and 1

others) have been found in 

the Green River shales, but they throw little 

light on the ecologic conditions that prevailed 

at that time. 

FOSSIL LOCALITIES AND LISTS -OF SPECIES. 

Locality unlcnown.-Undet the heading 

"hard, shaly, fine-grained whitish sandstone," 

Lesquereux 21 enumerated the species listed 

below and continued: 

About the same consistence and color as the specimens 

from Carbon station. The · precise locality is unknown, 

the labels having been lost or forgotten. 

However, in Lesq uereux's "Tertiary flora" 22 

all these species are referred without question 

to the Green River formation. 

Cyperus chavannesi Heer. 

Populus arctica Heer. 

Ficus multinervis Heer. 

Ficus lanceolata Heer. 

Ficus arenacea n. sp. 

Ficus gaudini n. sp. 

Platanus sp. 

Cinnamomum sp. 

These species of Ficus have been subsequently identified only in older rocks, such as 

21 LesquerelL'l:, Leo, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 

1871, pp. 300, 301, 1872. 

22 U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7, pp. 194, 195, 1878. 
138 .SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

the Mesaverde and "Laramie." There is 

absolutely no warrant for calling them Green 

River, and they are consequently dropped 

from this flora. · 

Alkali stage station, Wyo.-In 187 4 Lesquereux 23 described the following speci~s from 

Alkali stage station, on the Sweetwater road, 

about 30 miles north of Green River station on 

the Union Pacific Railroad: 

Alnites unequilateralis n. sp. 

Juglans alkalina n. sp. 

Carpites viburni n. sp. 

Lesquereux was uncertain as to the age of 

· ' these species but finally concluded that they 

were probably of the same age as the plant beds 

at Black Buttes, Wyo. Although the locality 

has not been revisited it has usually been 

. classed as of Green River age. 

Mouth of White River and west of Green River 

station, Wyo.-In 1874, under the caption 

''New species of Tert~ary fossil plants briefly 

described," Lesquereux 24 enumerated the following Green River species: 

1. Lygodium dentoni n. sp. 

2. Myrica ludwigii Schimper. 

3. Quercus haidingeri Ettingshausen. 

4. Ficus wyomingiana n. sp. 

5. Cissus parrottiaefolia n. sp. 

6. Phaseolites juglandinus? Heer. 

7. Leguminosites alternans n. sp. 

8. Sapindus dentoni n. sp. 

9. Lomatia microphylla n. sp. 

Nos. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were collected by William Denton at the mouth of White River, 

which empties into Green River. Nos. 3, 4, and 

5 were found west of Green River station. 

Green ·River station, Wyo.-In 1872 Lesquereux25· published a paper entitled "An 

enumeration with descriptions of some Tertiary 

fossil plants from specimens procured in the 

explorations of Dr. F. V. Hayden, in 1870." 

Under the caption "Green River, above the 

fish beds, " he enumerated the following forms: 

Hemitelites torelli Heer? 

Arundo gopperti Munster. 

Phragmites oeningensis Al. Braun. 

Juncus sp. 

Salix angusta Al. Braun. 

Salix media Al. Braun. 

23 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 

1874, pp. 307, 308, 1876. 

24 Idem, pp. 308-315; also U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., 2d 

ser., No.5, pp. 382-389, Jan. 8, 1876. 

25 U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Fifth Ann. Rept., for 1871, Suppl., pp. 5-9, 

22, 1872. 

Salix sp. 

Myrica nigricans n. sp. 

Myrica salicina Unger. 

· Quercus lonchitis Unger. 

Ficus populina Heer. 

Ficus ungeri n. sp. 

Cinnamomum scheuchzeri :S:eer. 

Eucalyptus americanus n. sp. 

Ampelopsis tertiaria n. sp. 

Ilex affinis n. sp. 

Ilex stenophylla Unger. [Excluded.] 

Ceanothus cinnamomoides Lesquereux. 

Rhus acuminata n. sp. 

Juglans schimperi n. sp. 

Juglans acuminata Heer? 

Juglans denticulata Heer? 

In the same year, under the caption "Green 

River group, high on hills from river," Lesquereux enumerated the following species: 

Ceanothus cinnamomoides Lesquereux . 

·carya heerii Ettingshausen. 

In the "Tertiary flora" (p. 277) Lesquereux 

states that Geanothus (or Zizyphus) cinnamomoides came from "Green River station, Wyo., 

above the fish beds with Ampelopsis tertiaria." It was collected by F. V. Hayden and 

is preserved in the United States National 

Museum (No. 431). · 

Bridger Pass ( ?) and Washakie station, Wyo.-

In the "Tertiary flora" Lesquereux enumerates 

three species as having come from Bridger Pass, 

Wyo., as follows: 

Laurus utahensis Lesquereux (p. 216). 

Aralia? gracilis (Lesquereux) Lesquereux (p. 236). 

Rhamnus intermedius Lesquereux (p. 282). · 

On referring to the place of original description it appears that Aralia? gracilis (or Liquidambar gracile, as it was first called) and Rhamnus intermedius are recorded by Lesquereux 26 

as having come from "Washakie station, near 

Bridger Pass." Laurus utahensis was described as new in the ''Tertiary flora'' and was 

said to have come from Bridger Pass, "in con-

.nection with Araliopsis [error for Aralia] gracilis and Populus arctica." Both these species 

are found at Washakie station, and with little 

doubt the species of Laurus was also found 

there. 

From this evidence it seems reasonably certain that the three species above mentioned 

did not come from Bridger Pass, but from W ashakie station, which is about 12 miles west of 

Bridger Pass. The improbability of their hav26 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rapt. 

for 1871, p. 286, 1872. 
. I. 

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FO~MAT'ION. 139 

ing co:rpe. from Bridget Pass is further emphasized by the fact that, according to Ball,2T the 

rocks in the. pass are referred to the Mesaverde. 

On the other hand, Washakie station is in an 

area . in Ball's "upper coal group," which includes "Upper Laramie," Fort Unio·n, and 

basal Wasatch. · As there is no indication bJ 

Lesquereux, or by Hayden, who collected these 

plants, as to where they came in the local section, it is absolutely impossible to place them 

until they are again collected from beds of 

known position. To refer them to the Green 

River formation is not warranted, and, at least 

for the present, they are excluded from this 

flora. 

Green River, Wyo. (plants described by J. S. 

Newberry).-In 1883 Newberry 28 named ' and 

gave preliminary descriptions of ~he following 

species: 

Acrostichum hesperium. 

Pecopteris (Phegopteris) sepulta. 

Sabal powellii. 

Manicaria haydenii. 

Quercus castanoides. 

Jugla.ns dentata. 

Juglans occidentalis. 

Planera variabilis . . 

Planera nervosa. 

Zizyphus longifolia. 

Aralia macrophylla. 

In 1898 Newberry 29 described and figured 

the plants enumerated in the preceding paper 

·under the following names: 

Lygodium kaulfussii. 

Acrostichum hesperium. 

Pecopteris (Cheilanthes) sepulta. 

Equisetum wyomingense. 

Sabal powellii. 

Manicaria haydenli. 

Juglans occidentalis. 

Salix angusta? 

Quercus castanoides. 

Planera nervosa. 

Planera variabilis. 

Zizyphus longifolia. 

Aralia macrophylla. 

N ordenskioldia borealis. · 

Green River oil shale, Cathedral Bluff, Little Tommies 

Draw, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office, Rio Blanco 

County, Colo. · (Winchester 7399): 

Caenomyces eucalpytae n. sp. 

Myrica sp. 

Pimelea spatulata n . sp. 

Sedum? hesperium n. sp. 

Eucalyptus? americanus Lesquereux. 

Carpites inquirenda n. sp. 

Green River oil shale, Greasewood Creek, 40 miles 

southwest of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colo. (Winchester 7381): 

Caenomyces sp. 

Danaea~ coloradensis n·. sp. 

Pontederites hesperia n. sp. 

Salix sp. 

Myrica minuta n. sp. 

Myrica praedrymeja n. sp. 

Comptonia? anomala n. sp. 

Oreodaphne viridiflumensis n. sp. 

Sapindus winchester! n. sp. 

Rhus n. sp. 

Zizyphus longifolia Newberry. 

Sambucus? winchesteri n. sp. 

'Carpolithes caryophylloides n. sp. 

Green River oil shale, Little Duck Creek, 50' miles 

soutlJ.west of Meeker, Rio Blan·co County, Colo. (Winchester 738la): 

Dalbergia retusa n. sp. 

Sophora coloradensis n. sp. 

Mimosites coloradensisn. sp. 

Green River oil shale, Cathedral Bluff, 20 miles west of 

Rio Blanco post office, Rio Blanco County, Colo., in sec. 

33, T. 4 S., R. 100 W. (Winchester 7382): 

Lygodium kaulfussii Heer. 

Salix linearis n. sp. 

Salix longiacuminata n. sp. 

Juglans winchesteri n. sp. 

Dalbergia viridiflumensis n .. sp. 

Eucalyptus? americana Lesquereux. 

Phyllites winchesteri n. sp. 

Green River oil shale, Camp Gulch, 25 miles northwest 

of De Beque, Colo. (Winchester 7384) : 

Achaenites cichorioides n. sp.' 

Green River oil sliale, head of trail up ridge between 

Carr and Bushy creeks, 25 miles northwest of De Beque, 

Colo. (Winchester 7386): 

Eucalyptus? americana Lesquereux. 

Green River oil shale, head ·of Carr Creek, 30 miles 

northwest of De Beque, Colo. (Winchester 7387): 

Myrica sp. 

SPECIES EXCLUDED FROM GREEN RIVER FLORA. Colorado localities (collections of D. E. Winchester).-The collections of D. E. Winchester The following species ·have been dropped 

River flora for the reasons include the species listed below. from the Green 

stated: Yellow sandstone of "Upper Green River," on Greasewood Creek, 40 miles west of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, 

Colo. W~nchester 7379): 

Aralia wyorningen~is Knowlton and Cockerell. 

21 Ball, M. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 341, pl. 13, 1~09. 

28 U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc. , vol. 5, pp. 502-514, 1883. 

29 Later extinct floras of North America: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, 

1898. 

Acer sp. Lesquereux, U. S. Ge~l. and Geog. Sur':ey Terr. 

Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 286, 1872. 

From Barrel Springs, Wyo.; not afterward recog-

: nized by Lesquereux. 

Aralia gracilis (Lesquereux) Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 'Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary_ flora), p. 236, pl. 39, 

fig. 1, 18, 78. 
140 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Liquidambar gracile Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 287, 1872. 

From Bridger Pass, Wyo., hence excluded. (See 

p.138.) 

Arundo gopperti Munster. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 5, 

1872; U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 86, pl. 8, figs. 3-5. 

This species is rejected from the Green River flora 

and probably should not be recognized in North 

America. In the "Tertiary flora" Lesquereux figured 

three specimens that he referred to this species. Of 

these only one, the original of his Plate VIII, figure 3, 

is now preserved in the United States National 

Museum (No. 95), and is · before me. It is fully 8 

centimeters wide, nearly three times the size of the 

largest specimen figured by Heer, 30 and is very unlike 

Heer's figure in appearance. It is marked with 

numerous fine longitudinal veins or lines, and at 

fairly regular intervals, about 1 centimeter apart, are 

stronger lines or folds. It may be a large leaf of 

Cyperacites or possibly a palm leaf. It is too indefinite 

to be identified. 

Blechnum gopperti Ettingshausen. Lesquereux, U. S. 

Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, 

p. 283, 1872. 

From Henry's Fork, Utah; not again referred to by 

Lesquereux. 

Carya heerii (Ettingshausen) Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. 

Gool. 'and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. fu;lpt. for 1871, 

p. 289, 1872. 

Not afterward recognized by Lesquereux. 

Cinnamomum scheuchzeri Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol 

and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., 

p. 7, 1872. 

Concerning this species Lesquereux said: "I refer 

to this species two leaves of Cinnamomum, one of 

which is contracted above the base, as in some forms 

of C. buchi Heer; the other narrower, like a variety 

of C. lanceolata Heer. Both specimens are incomplete 

and have the nervation of C. scheuchzeri, as represented 

in many specimens from other localities of our Tertiary.'' This species was not again alluded to as a 

member of the Green River flora, and the two leaves 

were probably transferred to some other species, but 

of this there is no record; they are not now known to 

be in existence. 

Cyperites deucalionis Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 285, 1872. 

From Barrel Springs, Wyo.; not afterward referred 

to by Lesquereux. 

Cyperus braunianus? Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 285, 1872. 

From Barrel Springs, Wyo.; not afterward mentioned by Lesquereux. 

Cyperus chavanensis Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. 'Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 300, 1872. 

Not from the Green 11iver formation. (Seep. 1~7.) 

Equisetum haydenii Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 284, 1872; U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. _Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), pl. 

6, figs. 2-4, 1878. 

ao Heer, 0s'l"".'11d, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 1, pl. 23, E.g. 1, 1854. 

Ficus arenacea Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 300, 1872. 

·Not from the Green River formation. (Seep. 137.) 

Ficus gaudini Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 200, 1872. 

Not from the Green River formation. (Seep. 137.) 

Ficus lanceolata Heer. Lesquereux_, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 300, 1872. 

Not from the Green River formation. (Seep. 137.) 

Ficus multinervis Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 300, 1872. 

Not from the Green River formation. (Seep. 137.) 

F~·cus populina Heer, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 2, p. 

66, pl. 85, figs. 1-7; pl. 86, figs. 1-11, 1856; Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. 

Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872. 

Ficus populina was characterized by Heer from 

specimens obtained in the Swiss Miocene. A number 

of leaves from the Green River formation were identified by Lesquereux with Heer's species, although he 

states that they show " some marked differences, " 

such as being obtuse rather than long and acutely 

pointed, having the veins nearer the borders, and having the marginal teeth pointed rather than round. 

There is a great deal of variation in the size and 

appearance of the forms referred to Ficus populina by 

Heer, and as Lesquereux did not specify the particular forms he regarded as most like those he had 

from Green River there is no way of telling where he 

later referred them. This species will have to be 

excluded from the Green River flora. 

Geonomites goldianus (Lesquereux) Lesquereux, U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 

115, pl. 9, fig. 9, 1878. 

Wrong identification. 

Palmacites gold1"anus Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 311, 1875. 

From Barrel Springs, Wyo. 

Hemitelites torrelli Heer? Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 5, 

1872. 

Not afterward referred to by Lesquereux. 

Ilex dissimilis Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., 

vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 271, pl. 50, figs. 7-9, 1878. 

This species comes from Sage Creek, Mont., in beds 

of doubtful age. There seems no longer any valid 

reason for including this in the Green River formation, 

~wen with a question, and it is excluded. 

Ilexstenophylla Unger. Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann .. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 8, 1872. 

Not afterward mentioned by Lesquereux in connection with the Green River flora. 

Juglans acuminata Heer? Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 8, 

1872. 

Lesquereux compares his Green RiYer leaf with ~ 

peculiar form . of Juglans acuminata from the Swiss 

Miocene, but as he did not afterward allude to it in 

this connection it was probably placed under some . 

other form without record of such transfer. 

Juglans dentata Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 5, 

p. 507' 1882 [1883]. 

Although thi8 species was described by Newberry 

it was evidently merged with some other species in the 
R.EVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 141 

formal publication of the "Later extinct floras," but 

just which one can not ~ determined. Hollick, who 

edited this work of Newberry's, states thathe could 

find neither specimen, figure, nor manuscript relating 

to it, so it would best be dropped. 

Laurus utahimsis Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 216, 1878. 

Said to have come from Bridger Pass, Wyo., but the 

locality is uncertain, hence it is best excluded from 

the Green River flora. (Seep. 138.) 

Leguminosites lesquereuxiana Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 152, p . 131, 1898; Mon. 32, pt. 2, p. 730, pl. 

79, fig. 4, 1899. [See below.] 

Leguminosites cassioides Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Terr., Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora) p. 300, pl. 59, figs. 

1-4,1878. [Homonym; replaced by L.lesquereuxiana.] 

It seems probable that this species would best be 

excluded from the Green River flora, for although Lesquereux states that three of the figured types were 

· obtained above the fish beds at Green River, they 

are not to be found with the other material from this 

locality that is preserved in the United States Na~ 

tional Museum, and their present location is unknown. 

The other type is from the supposed Livingston formation of the Bozeman coal field, Mont. As this species 

has not subsequently been found in the Green River 

formation, it is excluded, at least for the present. 

Magnolia sp. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Ge~g. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 287, 1872. 

This is stated to have come from Washakie station, 

Wyo., but as it was not afterward referred ,to by 

Lesquereux it should be dropped. 

Myrica studeri? Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

Proc., vol. 10, p. 38, 1887. 

The locality for this specimen is supposed to be 

White River, Wyo., but it is so uncertain and the 

specimen is so obscure that it is here excluded from 

the Green River flora. 

Phaseolites jugla.ndinus? Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. 

and Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 388, 1875 

[1876]. . 

Undoubtedly an error for Phyllites juglandinm 

Heer, as no record can be found in Heer of the combination given by Lesquereux. This species was 

described by Lesquereux from material collected near 

the mouth of White River, Wyo., but it was not 

afterward referred to and was probably merged with 

some other fo~m, .without record of its transfer. It 

is consequent~y dropped from the Green River flora.1 

Poacites laevis AI. Braun. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 285, 1872. 

From Barrel Springs, Wyo. 

Populus arctica Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Aim. Rept. for 1871, .P· 300, 1872. 

· Not from the Green River formation. (Seep. i37.) 

Quercus lonchitis Unger. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Anil. Rept. for 1871, Sup pl., 

p. 6, 1872. 

This species was identified by Lesquereux in a 

c_ollection of plants from Green River but was never 

figured and is now lost or merged with some other 

form; it has not since been identified with American 

material. It was not mentioned by Lesquereux in 

the ''Tertiary flora.'' 

91048°-23--10 

Rhamnus wq,shakiensis Cockerell, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

Bull. , vol. 24, p. 74, 1908. [See below.] 

Rhamnus intermedius Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 286, 1872;· U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), 

p. 282, pl. 54, fig. 3, 1878. [Homonym, Steudel and 

Hockstetter, 1827; replaced ,by R. washakiensis.] 

This species rests on· the single type specimen as 

figured' by Lesque.reux (U. S. N. M. No. 447). It is 

a rather nondescript oblong-elliptical leaf, about 6 

centimeters long and a little less than 2 centimeters 

wide, with a strong midrib and about 16 pairs of close, 

parallel , camptodroine secondaries. This species 

seems to approach most closely Rhamnus obovatus 

Lesquereux,a1 a species of somewhat doubtful age but 

distinguished by its obovate instead of elliptical 

outline. More material might bring them closer to-

. gethet, but for the present they are best kept apart. 

From Bridger Pass, Wyo., and hence .excluded from 

the .Green River flora. (See p. 138.) 

Sequ0'£a heerii Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 290, 1872; U. S. Geol. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 77, 

pl. 7, figs. 11-13, 1878. 

This species was described as coming from "Sage 

Creek, Mont. ," a locality that has not since been 

found ; hence, of course, its age is in doubt. Sequoia 

heerii has been subsequently identified in the upper 

part of the Clarno formation of Oregon, the Kenai 

formation of Alaska, and the Lance formation of 

Montana and Wyoming. It has not been reported 

from any Green River locality, and the manner in 

which it came to be even tentatively accredited to 

this formation is unknown. 

Zanthoxylon juglandinum? Al. Braun. Lesquereux, U.S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 294, 

pl. 58, fig. 10, 1878. 

This species comes from Washakie, Wyo., from beds 

whose position is not definitely settled as in the Green 

River formation; hence it is excluded. 

SYNONYMS AND CHANGES OF NAMES. 

Acer indivi um I,esquereux=Acer lesquereuxii Knowlton. 

Alnites ina.equilateralis Lesquereux=Pla.nera inaequilateralis. 

Alnm inaequilateralis Lesquereux=Planera inaequ_ilateralis. 

Ampelopsis tertiaria Lesquereux=Parthenocissus tertiaria. 

Apocynophyllum scudderi· Lesquereux=Eucalyp_tus? ameri:.. 

cana. 

Aralia macrophylla Newberry=Aralia wyomingensis. 

. Ceanothus cinnamomoides Lesquereux~Zizyphus cinnarnomoides. 

Juglans denticulata Heer. tesque~eux= Juglans crossii. 

Juglans occidental is N ewberry(part) = Carpites newberry ana. 

Jugla.ns schimperi Lesquereux (part)= Juglans occidentalis. · 

Lygodium neuropteroides Lesquereux=Lygodium kauljussii 

Myrica nigricans Lesquereux=Rhus nigricans. 

Pecopteris sepulta Newberry=Osmunda? sepulta. 

Planera variabilis Ne,wberry (part)=Planera inaequilateralis. 

a1 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr .. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p 281, pl. 54, figs. 1, 2, 1878. · 
142 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Qu.ercus castaneoides Newberry=Qu.ercus castaneopsis. 

Rhu.s acu.minata Lesquereux=Rhu.s lesqu.ereu.xii Knowlton 

and Cockerell. 

. Salix angu.sta Al. Braun? Newberry=Eu.calyptu.sf americana. . 

Salix media Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. ~or 1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872= 

Salix sp. 

Spheria myricae Lesquereux=Sphaerites myricae. 

Zizyphu.s longijolia Newberry (part)=Zizyphu.s cinnamomm:des. 

THE ACCEPTED GREEN RIVER FLORA. 

The Green River flora as here described comprises the following species: 

Caenomyces eucalyptae Knowlton, n. sp. 

Caenomyces sapindicola Knowlton, n. sp. 

Sphaerites myricae (Lesquereux) Meschinelli. 

Acrostichum hesperium Newberry. 

Lygodium kaulfussii Heer. 

Lygodium dentoni Lesquereux. 

Osmunda? sepulta (Newberry) Knowlton. 

Danaea coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Equisetum wyomingense Lesquereux. 

Arundo reperta Lesquereux. 

Cyperus chavannesi Heer. 

Cyperacites haydenii (Lesquereux) Knowlton. 

Geonomites haydenii (Newberry) Knowlton, n. 

comb. 

Sabal powellii Newberry. 

Flabellaria florissanti Lesquereux. 

Pontederites hesperia Knowlton, n. sp. 

J uncus sp. Lesquereux. 

Musophyllum complicatum Lesquereux. 

Salix linearis K~owlton, n. sp. · 

Salix longiacuminata Knowlton, n. sp. 

Salix sp. Knowlton. 

Salix sp. Knowlton. 

Myrica salicina Unger. 

Myrica minuta Knowlton, n. sp. 

Myrica praedrymeja Knowlton, n. sp. 

·Myrica ludwigii Schimper. 

Myrica sp. Knowlton. 

Myrica sp. Knowlton. 

Comptonia? anomata Knowlton, n. sp. 

J uglans oc.cidentalis Newberry. 

J uglans schimperi Lesquereux. 

Juglans crossii Knowlton. 

Juglans alkalina Lesquereux. 

Juglans winchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Quercus castaneopsis Lesq uereux. 

Planera inaequilateralis (Lesquereux) Knowlton, 

n. comb. 

Ficus ungeri Lesquereux. 

Ficus wyomingiana Lesquereux . . 

Ficus tenuinervis Lesquereux. 

Lomatia? microphylla Lesquereux. 

Oreodaphne viridiflumensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Pimelea spatulata Knowlton, n. sp. 

Brasenia? antiqua Newberry . . 

Sedum? hesperium Knowlton, n. sp. 

Amygdalus gracilis Lesquereux. 

Dalbergia viridiflumensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Dalbergia retusa Knowlton, n. sp. 

Leguminosites alternans Lesquereux. 

Sophora coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp . 

Mimosites coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Ailanthus longe-petiolata Lesquereux. 

Sapindus dentoni Lesquereux. 

Sapindus obtusifolius Lesquereux. 

Sapindus willchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Rhus lesquereuxii Knowlton and Cockerell. 

Rhus variabilis (Newberry) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Rhus nigricans (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Rhus myricoides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Euonymus flexifolius Lesquereux. 

Acer lesquereuxii Knowlton. 

Ilex? affinis Lesquereux. 

Ilex maculata Lesquereux. 

Iiex vyomingiana Lesquereux. 

Zizyphus longifolia Newberry. 

Zizyphus cinnamomoides (Lesquereux) Lesquereux. 

Cissus parrottiaefolia Lesquereux. 

Parthenocissus tertiaria (Lesquereux)' Knowlton, 

n. comb. 

Eucalyptus? americanus Lesquereu:x;. 

Aralia wyomingensis Knowlton and Cockerell. 

Andromeda delicatula Lesquereux. 

Sambucus? winchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Achaenites cichorloides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Antholithes improbus Lesquereux. 

Carpolithus caryophylloides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Carpites viburni Lesquereux. 

Carpites newberryana Knowlton, n. sp. 

Carpites inquirenda Knowlton, n. sp. 

Phyllites winchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Phyllites fremonti Unger. 

Phyllites coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Nordenskioldia borealis Heer. 

RELATION OF GREEN RIVER FLORA TO OTHER 

FLORAS. 

The position of the Green River formation 

above the Wasatch and below the Bridger fixed 

its stratigraphic ho~izon as approximately middle Eocene. Hayden when he named the formation made no attempt to fix its position 

definitely within the Tertiary, though by inference it fell within the Eocene. Cope, who 

first studied the Green River fish, did not 

venture more than to place it in the Eocene, 

because he regarded the available data as 

insufficient. 

Lesquereux/2 who was the first to study the 

flora systematically, placed these beds. in his 

so-called fourth group, which comprised a 

"Lower Green River" and an' ''Upper Green 

River." To the first of these he referred the 

s2 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), pp. 314-326, 1878. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF T'HE GREEN RIVER FORM,ATION. 143 

localities of Barrel Springs and Green River 

station (above fish beds), Wyo.,, and Sage 

Creek, Mont., and to the second the localities 

Florissant, Colo., Elko, Nev., and White River, 

Wyo. 

In his final consideration of the Green River 

flora Lesquereux 33 referred all these localities 

to the Green River formation. For many 

years thereafter the Florjssant lake beds were 

generally regarded as of Green River age, but 

. subsequent study had placed them in the upper 

Miocene. The plants from Elko, Nev., have 

not been critically studied and revised in 

recent years, but they are probably slightly 

younger than the Green River. 

As pointed out in another place, ·the locali-

. ties of Barrel Springs, Fort Bridger, and Sage 

Creek have b~en removed from the Green River 

formation on the ground of uncertainty as to 

their position. 

The only described middle Eocene flora with 

which the Green River flora may be compared 

is one from the so-called Congaree clay member 

of the McBean formation of the Claiborne 

group 34 of Georgia, described by Berry.35 

This is a small flora of only 17 species, belonging to the following genera: 

Acrostichum. 

Arundo. 

Castanea. 

Conocarpus. 

Dodonaea. 

Ficus. 

Malapoenna. 

Mimosites. 

Momisia. 

Pisonia. 

Pistia. 

Potamogeton. 

Rhizophora. · 

Sapindus. 

Sphaerites. 

Terminalia. 

Thrinax. 

~he genera common to these two floras are . 

Acrostichum. Mimosites. 

Arundo. Sapindus. 

Ficus. · Sphaerites. 

Although none of the species are held to be 

common to the two, there are several that are 

evidently rather closely related. Thus Acrostichum georgianum is regarded by Berry as 

closely related to Acrostichum hesperium, 

"differing from it i~ being somewhat more 

slender in habit and in having straighter midsa U. S. Geol. Sun·ey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary 

floras), pp. 206-218, 1883. 

a• Later more detailed .work revealed the fact that the deposits from 

which this flora was collected are of Jackson (upper Eocene) age and 

belong to the Twiggs clay member of the Barnwell formation. See U . S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 120, pp. 41-77, 1919. 

3" Berry, E. ·w ., 'l'he Upper Cretaceous and Eocene floras of South 

Carolina and Georgia: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 84, pp. 129-163, 

pis. 24-29, 1914. 

veins and less elongate, finer areolation." I . • Arundo · pseudogoepperti, although a mere fragmen~, is r~gar1e~ as very similar to and possibly Identical w

1

Ith Arundo . reperta, from the. 

Green River. The only species of Ficus from 

·the Georgia loaality is Ficus claibornensis. It 

is an oblong-lahceolate leaf in which very littleof the nervatioh is preserved and is quite different from eith r of the Green River species. 

Mimosites georgianus is certainly very similar 

to Mimosites I coloradensis. S apindus georgiana, accorditg to Berry, suggests Sapindus 

angustifolius a d S. stellariaefolius, both from 

the Floris ant ake b~ds, but i~ not partiicular~y 

close to any een River species. The Georgia 

species of Sp~aerites is ~imilar to B 'haerites 

myricae from tme Green River, but all fo silleafspot fungi are Jo similar that without t e essential orga;ns it iJ almost impossible to be certain 

of ide:ritificatiohs. . 

The ecologik conditions under wh ch this 

Georgia flora rew are discussed at lefgth by 

Berry, who co[ cludes that it wa_s di~t~nctly .a 

coastal flora. The only forms to w11-ch this 

interpretation would not apply are qastanea, 

which is an u~land t~pe, and Pisti~ a:qd Potamogeton, both J of which are aquatic but not 

·of coastal w_ atrrs. All these could ha e been . 

brought down! from higher land by a stream. 

Coneerning the others Berry says: 

It is interestinJ to note that the remaining 2 species: 

are all plants or ~ coastal habitat, their modern representatives flourishing in the tidal nipa swamps of tie Orient, 

in mangrovH swaili.ps of the Orient and Occide t; on the 

strand in beach ~gle, or on the landward side of coastal 

sand dunes. Nearrlyall are represented by form : found in 

the existing flora n the Florida keys or along th shores of 

peninsular Florida, some, like Conocarpus, fJourishing 

equallly well on ~ither rn:uddy or sandy shorek. Every . h 1 t .. h . A . T. I. speci-es as represen atlves In t e mencan ro~Ics. 

The- actual ~hysical conditions BerrlY interpret::; as follows: I 

The present wit ter isotherm in the latitude of Grovetown [Ga.] is ~PP oximately 48° F. None of the closely 

allied modern plants flourish north of the winte~ isotherm 

of 52') F., and st of them do not occur no~th of the 

winter isotherm ~ 60° F. None of the fossil for:ins except 

possibly the Potarogeton, the modern species: of which 

range over a great many degrees of latitude, o the Castanea,. which likewfi.se has a wide range, would be expected 

to occur outside the latitudes where what Schifper calls 

the subtropical orrwarm temperate rain forests are found. 

We would expect the Claiborne climate, at le~st at low 

elevations along t e coast and in proximity to rhe warin 

Eocene ocean current or currents, to have been niformly 

humid, with an nnual rainfall somewhere be ween 159 
144 SHQRTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

and 200 centimeters. The actual rainfall could becpme a 

more or less negligible factor provided the water table 

approached close to the surface and the humidity was 

high and constant. The temperature would have to be 

uniform rather than hot, judging by modern standards, 

for any degree of winter cold would have been fatal. The 

climate need not have been tropical, nor would it be surprising if the Claiborne niarine fauna failed to show 

tropical forms or reef corals, for the main factors which 

would limit the spread. of a flora like the one described 

would be uniform humidity, ample rainfall, and the 

absence of severe cold. 

As might perhaps be expected, there is comparatively little identity of species betyveen the 

Green River flora and early Eocene floras. At 

one time it was thought that there were several 

"Laramie" species that persisted into the 

. Green . River, but as shown in another place 

this belief was due to a small collection of 

obviously older forms for which the locality 

label had been either "lost or forgotten" and 

which were wrongly placed in the Green River. 

According to the books the following species 

have been found common to the Green River 

and Fort Union formations: 

Lygodium kaulfussii. 

J uglans occidentalis. 

· ' Quercus castanopsis. 

Ficus ungeri. 

Zizyphus cinnamomoides. 

Andromeda delicatula. 

The Fort Union flora, however, is much in 

~eed of critical revision, and it is probable that 

when this revision is made it will be found that 

some of these species were misidentified. 

A single Green River S:Recies (Juglans 

crossii) has been reported in th~ Hanna formation of south-central Wyoming. 

So far as known no species has been found 

common to the Green River flora and those of 

the Arapahoe, Denver, Raton, o~ Lance formations. One Green River species (Rhus affinis) 

has been reported from the Wilcox flora, but as 

Berry seriously questions the identification it 

can not be considered of much importance. 

Another Green River species (Ficus tem.tinervis) has been identified in . the lower part 

of the Clarno formation of Oregon, and another 

(Sapindus obtusifolius) in the Mascall (MiocPne) 

formation of Oregon. 

Although Lesquereux referred the Florissant 

lake beds to the Green River formation, the 

present revision. has shown only one species 

(Amygd,alus gracilis) as common to the two, 

and even this is. open to some question. 

BIOLOGIC AND ECOLOGIC INTERPRETATION OF 

THE FLORA. 

Although the known flora of -the Green River 

formation is still rather small, it includes anumber of species that are of considerable biologic 

interest, and it is perhaps large enough to permit the drawing of at least tentative conclusions regarding the climatic conditions under 

which it flourished. As already pointed out, 

the great bulk of the formation is almost if not 

entirely unfossiliferous, but where any fossils 

occur in it they are generally very abundant. 

Thus, the so-called fish beds near the town of 

Green River have yielded many thousands of 

fish rem,ains, as many as a hundred occurring 

on a small slab. In some layers-for example, 

in the layers just above the fish beds that contain the remains of palms-the plant remains 

are so matted together as to be individually 

indistinguishable." In southwestern Colorado 

the fossiliferous beds associated with the oil 

shale contain. a profusion of plant arid insect 

remains. As already stated, the study of the 

microscopic flora of the oil shale has-been only 

partly completed, though sufficient to show the 

presence of bacteria, blue-green algae, P,rotococcus, Spirogyra, saprophytic fungi, mosses, · 

ferns, and various types of seed-bearing plants. 

Some of these-perhaps all of them-but particularly the algae appear to have contributed 

to -the accumulation of the oil in the shale. 

The algae are said to occur in great abundance 

and in a very perfect state of preservation, 

which would imply warm, rather shallow water. The great mass of amorphous undifferentiated vegetable matter in the _oil shale indicates the action of bacteria in its reduction, 

which could hardly ha~e taken place at depths 

much exceeding 20 feet. There is little · evidence of the presence of moss plants, and the 

presence of spores must have been more or less 

fortuitous, for the mosses are plants so small 

and inconsequential that their. spores could 

hardly have been much of. a factor. The moss 

spores, the spores and sporangia -of ferns, and 

the pollen of conifers must have been blown 

from adjacent land, and hence they give no 

indication of the depth of water in which they 

fell, nor of the' temperature at which they 

grew, for it is not possible from available data 

to identify the types of plants that produced 

them. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF T:aE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 145 

Turning now to the plants described in ·this 

paper, we have at least three distinct forms of 

leaf -spot fungi, occurring on three types of 

leaves-Myrica, Sapindus, and Eucalyptus. 

They· have the same general appearance as 

many present-day leaf-spot fungi, but as their 

spore characters can not. be made out their 

systematic position is subject to more or less 

question. Their requirements as to temperature are, of course, the same as that of the 

leaves on which they grew. 

The ferns of the Green River formation· are 

represented by five well-marked forms, some 

of which are of exceptional ·interest. Thus 

Danaea, although described from a fragment, 

is perfectly authenticated and so far as known 

is the first example of the living type to be 

found fossil. This genus comprises more than 

25 living species, all strictly American, ranging from Cuba and southern Mexico to Brazil. 

They are terrestrial ferns of rather coarse habit, 

mostly 2 or 3 feet in height, growing in the 

shade in moist but well-drained tropical valleys and slopes, where the humidity is high 

and constant. The fossil form seems to be 

most clearly related to a species living on the 

island of Trinidad. Another rather striking 

Green River fern is .Acrostichum, which has 

only three living species living in tropical tidal 

marshes in both old and new worlds. Climbing ferns of the genus Lygodium are represented 

_ by two nominal species in the Green River 

flora. The better known of these is identified 

as Lygodium kaulfussii, a form first described 

from specimens obtained in the Miocene of 

Thuringia but since widely known from collections in Europe and this country. The 

genus is a large one distributed mainly in the 

Tropics of both hemispheres, especially in 

coastal thickets. The remaining fern of the 

Green River flora is referred with question to 

the genus Osmunda. 

The Equisetacae are represented by a single 

species of Equisetum that is poorly preserved 

and can not be of much value in the present 

connection. 

With the exception of some pollen grains 

found in connection with the oil shale, no 

remains of conifers have been reported from 

the Green River formation. 

The monocotyledons are better represented, 

though there is nothing very remarkable. 

There are the usual nondescript forms referred 

to Arundo, Oyperus, and Cyperacites with a 

doubtful species of Juncus. The ~ost impressive things. are the palms, of whif.~ there 

ar~ three nommal forms referred to f.Iffereilt 

genera, though more complete mate~ial may 

change certain of these references. Th sp. ecies. 

of Geonomites and Sabal are very rare in fact,. 

are known only from the type materilal-but 

the form referred to Flabellaria wf1 s very 

abundant at one locality and of la ge size. 

The leaves are so matted together t 1 at it is 

impossible to get them out whole, bf1 t from 

many fragments studied the convictio grows 

that they must have been at least 4 r 5 feet 

in diameter. They had a long, rather slender, 

unarmed petiole. . 

The family Palmaceae, which c~mprises 

about 150 genera and 1,000 species, ~~ ess~ntially tropical and about equally dis~ributed 

in the Eastern and Western hemisphetes. At 

the present time the highest northern ]latitude 

it reaches in Europe is about 43° and tpe highest southern latitude about 45° in New Zealand. 

A few species extend their range into teEperate 

regions, and some can even endure a trmperature bel'ow 32°, but they are the excepfion. 

Palms were introduced at least as ~arly as 

middle Cretaceous time and during t e early 

part of the Tertiary period had attaine 1 a wide 

range, occurring, for instance, in Grinn ll Land, . 

Spitz_berg~n · (80° no~th), in Gr~enlanf (70°), 

and 1n this country In Fort Union btds near 

the mouth of the Yellowstone, in th Puget 

~roup of Oregon and Washington, in thle Kenai 

formation and other Eocene beds oflAlaska, . 

in the Denver and Raton formations o eastern 

Colorado and northeastern New Mex co, and 

in the Wilcox group of the Gulf region · 

The two remaining monocotyledf ns are 

Musophyllum, based on large but frag~entary 

Musa-'-like leaves that may or may not be correctly referred to the Musaceae, a~d Pontederi{es, a newly described form th~l seems 

correctly interpreted as ancestral to t~e genus 

Pontederia. The Pontederiaceae are ,1a small 

American family of 5 genera and arout 25 

species living in warm. and temperate fegions. 

Pontederia, is a variable aggregation, ~y some 

.regarded as a single species; others r~cognize 

two species, one confined to North America 

and one to South America; but the lat,st view 

iriclines to the recognition of seven lr eight 

species. The North American specie (Pon-
146 SHORTER CONTRIBUTION~ TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, i922. 

,tederia cordata Linne), the well-known pickerel 

weed, ranges from Nova Scotia to Minnesota 

and south to Florida and Texas. It grows 

in shallow fresh water. The leaf of the Green 

River form is certainly very similar to the 

living form. 

The Salicales are represented in this flora by 

four forms· of Salix, two of which are so fragmentary that they have not been given 

specific .names. The others are small, narrow, 

rather nondescript leaves that it is difficult 

to place satisfactorily. They appear to be 

willow leaves, but their affinities are more or 

less doubtful. Hence any conclusions as to 

their ecologic conditions must be more or less 

tentative. 

The Myricales are represented by six fo!ms 

of Myrica and a single anomalous and more or 

less doubtful leaf referred to Oo~ptonia. The 

five species of Juglans representing the Juglari.daceae are not particularly noteworthy, nor 

is the single species of Quercus which represents 

the Fagaceae. The single species of Planera, 

of the family illmaceae, was a very abundant 

plant in the Green River and seems to be very 

well authenticated. The three species of Ficus 

representing the Moraceae were not apparently 

very numerous, but one (Ficus ungeri) had 

large, fine leaves. The Prote!iceae are questionably represented by a single species of Lomatia. 

The type specimens are lost, and the generic 

reference is more than doubtful. They might 

be leaflets of some mimosaceous or Sapinduslike form. To the Lauraceae are referred two 

genera (Oreodaphne and Pimelea), each with a 

single species and each based on a single specimen. · The species of Pimelea is rather closely 

related to a species from the Florissant lake 

beds. The species of Brasenia, the sole 

representative of the Nymphaeaceae, seems 

well authenticated. Brasenia is a monotypic 

genus of aquatic perennial plants found in 

North America, Cuba, eastern and tropical 

Asia, western tropical Africa, and Australia. 

The Crassulaceae are doubtfully rep:fesented 

by a species referred with question to Sedum, 

but the resemblance may be only superficial. 

The single species of Arnygdalus is involved in 

so much doubt that it is hardly worth while 

discussing its affinities. The Papilionaceae are 

represented by two species of Dalbergia and one 

each of Sophora and Leguminosites, and the 

Mimosaceae by one species of Mimosites. 

These are all small, narrow leaves or leaflets 

and if correctly identified would seem to indicate a moist lowland habitat. The living 

species of these genera are very numerous and 

are widely scattered over the warmer parts of 

both hemispheres, being especially abundant 

on all tropical seashores. In the order Geraniales the Simarubaceae are represented by a 

very well authenticated species of Ailanthus, 

though the connection ·between the leaf and 

the winged fruit may be uncertain. Ailanthus 

is not now a native of the Western Hemisphere, 

the seven living species being confined to 

eastern. Asia and the East Indies. They are 

at home in warm or subtropical temperatures. 

The order Sapindales is represented by several families in the Green River flora. Of 

these the Anacardiaceae claim four species of 

Rhus. This family numbers about 60 genera 

and 450 living species of trees and shrubs and is 

present in the Tropics and subtropics of both 

hemispheres, being specially abundant in Malaysia. Rhus is the only genus of the family 

found outside the Tropics. The Celastraceae 

are represented by a single species of Euonymus. 

This genus has about 60 living species, widely 

distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but is most abundant in the Asiatic 

Tropics and in Japan and China. The Sapindaceae, represented in the Green River by four 

species of Sapindus, constitute a very large 

family of over 100 genera and 1,000 species. 

They are mostly confined to tropical or subtropical regions. The Ilicaceae comprise only 

five genera and less· than 200 species. The 

principal genus is !lex, which is found in nearly 

all tropical and temperate regions and is represented in the Green River flora by three species. 

In the order Rhamnales the family Rhamnaceae includes about 50 genera and 500 living 

forms, mainly of the Tropics but a few, among 

them Rhamnus, extending into temperate 

regions. The only genus of this family represented in the Green River flora is Zizyphus, 

with two well-marked species. There are 

about 40 living species of Zizyphus, mainly 

shrubs or small trees, of warm temperate 

regions, with a few in the Tropics of both hemispheres. The Vitaceae comprise · about a 

dozen genera and nearly 500 species, mainly 

tropical or subtropical, though a few, such as 

Viiis, extend into temperate regions. Oissus 

is the largest genus, including 250 species, all 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER :FOR.MATTON. 147 

or nearly all tropical. Inasmuch as the Eucalyptus in the Green River flora is questioned 

there is perhaps no necessity for going further 

into the history of this family. The final 

family that needs to be considered is the Araliaceae, represented in the Green River flora by a 

very well-defined species of Aralia. This fam-

'ily embraces about 50 genera and over 500 

·species, mainly tropical, but a considerable 

number extend into temperate regions, especially in North America and eastern Asia. · 

The remaining forms are referred ·to the 

genera Antholithes, Carpolithus, Oarpites, Phyllites, and Achaenites and need not be further 

discussed. The species of Achaenrites is note..: 

worthy in that it appears to indicate with much 

certainty the presence of the great group of 

Compositae. 

From the foregoing account it appears .that 

an .overwhelming preponderance of the living 

forms in the families represented in the Green 

River flora are inhabitants of tropical or subtropical regions, many Qf them in both helni ... -

spheres, yet a considerable number include 

either genera or species that extend in to ternperate regions. There is some evidence to 

show that there were at least two ecologic 

provinces in Green River time. Thus, there 

are a number of the genera that are of the lowland type, such as 

Lygodium 

Acrostich urn 

Danae a 

Osmunda 

Arundo 

Cyperus 

Geonomites 

Sabal 

Flabellaria 

Pontederites 

Musophyllum 

Planera 

Ficus 

Lomatia 

Pimelea 

Oreodaphne 

Dalbergia 

Leguminosites 

Sophora 

Mimosites 

Ailanthus 

Sapindus 

Eucalyptus? 

Aralia 

Brasenia 

There are other genera that seem to find a 

more congenial home on higher ground. These 

are 

Salix 

Myrica 

Comptonia? 

-Juglans 

Quercus 

Rhus 

Acer? 

Zizyphus 

Ilex 

Andromeda 

Sambucus? 

This division is not a very satisfactory one, 

and the assignments may not all be valid,· but 

· there were evidently some differences in the 

conditions under which the several elements 

were found. The physical setting can be 

pictured smnewhat as follows: About the 

shores of the lake were certain fiat, low-lying 

areas, some of them probably swampy, others 

sandy, whereon grew the palms, figs, Lomatia, 

Oreodaphne, hackberries, the several papilionaceous trees and shrubs, the, ferns, grass, sedge, 

etc., and in the water the pickerel weed, Brasenia, algae, etc. On the adjacent somewhat 

higher land might have been the willows, 

waxberries, sweet fern:, walnuts,· oaks, si.irriacs, 

maples ( ~) ,· hollies, etc. 

The conditions of temperature and moisture 

under which the Green River flpra flourished 

are somewhat difficult of in.terpretation, as 

there is see:rliingly more or less' col}ilict between 

the elements. of the flora. The' nearest living 

relatives of certain of the ·genera -that · are 

belie-ved 'to _'have inhabited the lowlan4s,· such 

as Lygod,~um, Acrostichum, Danaeq/ , G~onomit~s, Sabal, Flabellaria, Musophyllum~ .Planera, Ficus, Lomatia, Pimelea, Oreodaphne, the. 

leguminous genera, and possibly' Sapindus, 

Eucalyptus, ·and Aralia, are fouriq mainly in 

subtropical or tropical areas. Th,e- palms, at 

least one species of which existed in abundance, 

co-q.ld hardly have lived where the temperature fell below · 42° F .. and probably not ever1 

where it was considerably higher than this. 

Certain of the other genera, such as Osmunda, 

Arundo, Oyperus, Aralia, and Braseni'a, might 

have withstood frost, for although the speeies 

of these genera are largely tropical or subtropical they include species that extend into 

temperate r egions. All things considered it 

seems probable that this lowland flora must 

have required a temperature that was at least 

warm temperate and possibly: bordered on 

·subtropical. 

The upland flora, including such genera as 

Salix, Myrica, Juglans, Quercus, Rhus, Acer, 

and llex, could well have withstood some 

degree of frost, but on the other hand all these 

genera cont~in species that could find a congenial habitat in a warm temperate region. 

It is doubtful if any of them had to withstand 

cutting frosts. 

The inferences . to be drawn regarding the 

climatic requirements of the insect fauna are in 

substantial accord with those sbggested by the 

flora. · I am informed by Prof. T.D.A.Cockerell 

that the known insect fauna of the Green River 
148 .SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

shales now numbers 296 species. Concerning 

this fauna he says: 

The really dominant and characteristic insects of the 

Green River shales, if any such can be specially designated, a~e the Fulgoridae, which have a most distinctly 

tropical aspect and in many cases closely resemble living 

tropical genera. The other groups of insects do not appear tropical, though one of the dragon-fly genera is closely 

related to a neotropical one. The dragon flies, caddis flies, 

etc., indicate that there was plenty oi fresh water, but it 

does not follow that these breed in the lake. 

-~ Alexander,36 the well-known authority on 

the crane flies, has the following to say regarding the geologic history of this group: 

The North American Eocene and Miocene, as represented by the White River and Gr~en River beds and the 

Florissant shales, respectively, give evidence of having 

had a northern [tipulid] fauna, especially the Eocene. 

This is well shown by the great development of the Cylindrotominae, which in the White River basin almost 

dominated the crane-fly fauna during the Eocene. It 

. seems probable, moreover, that the group· was. forced 

into colder regions of the globe during the Oligocene, 

~hen the tropical element reached far north. No group 

of crane flies that can be considered tropical has yet been 

found in the Florissant beds. On the other hand, the 

European Oligocene, as shown by the Garnet Bay beds and 

the lower Oligocene Baltic amber, has a considerable 

tropical element apparent. 

From these statements it appea~~ th~;tt the 

evidence of the insects is practically the same 

as that of the plants, namely, they comprise 

a certain element that indicates tropical surroundings, and another, or others; that indicate cooler, perhaps temperate conditions. 

THE FLORA. 

Phylum THALLOPHYTA. 

Class FUNGI. 

Series ASCOMYCETES. 

Order LABOULBILIA.LES. 

Family LABOULBILIACEAE. 

Genus CAENOMYCES Berry. 

Caenomyces eucalyptae Knowlton, n. _sp. 

Plate XXXVI, figures 8, 9. 

I follow Berry in adopting · Oaenomyces as 

the generic name of this leaf -spot fungus. 

Berry's description 37 is as follows: 

The presence of spots of different shapes on the leaves 

of fos'lil plants is exceedingly common, and a very large 

. as Alexander, C. P., The crane flies of New York, pt. 2: Cornell Univ. 

Agr. Exper. Sta. Mem'. 38, p. 764, 1920. . 

s1 Berry, E. w., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 162, 1916. 

number of so-called species of fossil leaf-spot fungi· have 

been described by Ettingshausen, Heer, Saporta, and 

others. * * * The identification of these fossil forms 

obviously rests on a very insecure foundation, especially 

when it is recalled that scale insects and a great variety of 

insect galls would ~esemble epiphyllous fungi when preserved on impressions of fossil leaves. Nevertheless, large 

numbers of undoubted fungi are preserved in this manner, 

and it is the legitimate duty of the p::tleobotanist to 

describe and illustrate them. In order to accomplish this 

work without unwarranted definiteness in generic classification, I propose the term Caerwmyces as a form g~nus for 

leaf-spot fungi of Cenozoic age whose precise botamc affinities can not be determined. 

One of the leaves of Eucalyptus? americanus 

from western Colorado shows about twenty 

very well preserved leaf spots, apparently 

caused by a fungus. They are circular, are 

about 1.5 or 2 millimeters in diameter, and 

have an outer black ring perhaps 0.05 millimeter in width under which the substance 

of the leaf has shrunken. The center of the 

ring is elevated, and on the top of this in the 

center are several black pustules evidently 

where the mature spores are being or about to 

be discharged. 

The disposition and general appearance of 

these leaf spots is shown in figure 8 natural 

size, and one of the most perfect spots in 

figure 9, which is enlarged six times. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, on 

leaf of Eucalyptus? americanus Lesquereux, 

Cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies 

Draw about · 20 miles west of Rio Blanco ' . 

post office, Rio Blanco County, Colo., collected 

by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Caenomyces sapindicola Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVI, figure 10. 

The type leaflet of Sapindus winchesteri (Pl. 

XXXVIII, fig. 1) shows the presence of several 

lea;f-spot fungi. The spots are circular, 1.5 to 

2 millimeters in diameter, and some show an 

inner ring with a slightly raised central portion. 

It is evidently not mature and is so obscure 

that it is hardly worthy of mention except to 

call attention to the presence of furigi of this 

general type on Sapindus. . 

Occurrence: Green River formation, on type 

leaflet of Sapindus U..'inchesteri Knowlton, 

oil shale, Smith ranch, on Greasewood Creek, 

about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo., 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 
R.EVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 149 

Order SPHAERIALES. 

Family SPHAERIACEAE. 

Sphaerites myricae (Lesquereux) Meschinelli. 

Sphaerites myricae (Lesquereux) Meschinelli, Sylloge fungorum fossilium, p. 23, 1892. 

Spheria myricae Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1872, p. 390, 1873; U. S. Geol. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 34, 

pl. 1, fig. 4, 1878. 

This species was first described from speci~ 

mens collected at Black Buttes, Wyo., where it 

was found on leaves of Myrica torreyi Lesquereux. It was later found ·at G~een River, 

Wyo., on leaves of Myrica nigricaris (now Rhus 

nigricans) ~ 

It was described by Lesquereux as foilows: 

"Perithecia punctiform, minute, either sparse 

or in . a circle, forming round spots" about a 

millimeter in diameter, "the center of which is 

clear and of a light color." It m.ay be the 

same as Oaenomyces eucalyptae, d~scribed on 

page 148, but as it can not be certainly ide:q.ti:fied 

with that species it is permitted to stand as 

left by Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., on leaves of Myrica nigricans 

Lesquereux. "Post-Laramie" (type), Black · 

Buttes, Wyo. 

Phylum PTERIDOPHYTA. 

Class FILICES. 

Order FILICALES. 

Family POLYPODIACEAE. 

Acrostichum hesperium Newberry. 

Acrostichum hesperium Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., 

vol. 5, p. 503, 1882 [1883]; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 

35, p. 6, pl. 61, figs. 2-5, 1898. 

The illustrated types of this splendid fern are 

all preserved in the United States National 

Museum (Nos. 7013-7016)~ 

Occurrence: Green River .formation, Green 

River, Wyo., collected by C. A. White. 

Family SCHIZAEACEAE. 

Lygodium kaulfussii Heer. 

Plate XXXVI, figure 7. 

Lygodium kauljussii Heer, Beitriige zur nahern Kenntniss 

der sttchsisch-thuringischen Braunkohlen:flora, p. 

400, pl. 8, fig. 21; pl. 9, fig. 1, 1861. 

Newberry, U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 1, pl. 62, 

figs. 1-4, 1898. 

Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 32, pl. 2, p. 672, 

pl. 80, figs. 1, 2, 1898. . 

Lygodium neuropteroides Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

· Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1870, p. 384, 

1871; U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 1lora): p. 61, pl. 5, figs. 4-7; pl. 6, fig. 1, 1878. 

The genus Lygodium is so .characteristic 

i11. shape and nervation that with reasonably 

adequate material it is easily and certainly 

identified. Its presence in the Green River 

formation was first made known by Lesquereux, who described and figured Lygodium 

neuropteroides. Subsequently a very · large 

number of very well preserved examples 

were procured from the Green River formation 

by J. S. Newberry. · These were identified 

as Lesq~ereux's species, and, as Newberry 

said, "They illustrate the growth of the plant. 

.far better than those he figured. Coming 

all from the same locality, · indeed thickly 

impacted together and having the same 

:q.ervation, they unquestionably represent a 

single species." . 

Before Newberry's account was published, 

however, Gardner 38 published an account of 

British Eocene ferns in which he pointed out 

the identity of Lesqilereu;x'~ Lygod·ium neuropteroides with Heer's Lygodium kaulfussii, 

and this view was accepted by both Lesquereux and Newberry. · Lesquereux was 

shown specimens of the true · Lygodium kaulfussii and pronounced them "positively identical" with his species from the -Green River 

formation. If there is any difference it is 

that the American specimens are s0mewhat , 

more robust and have slightly broader and less 

undulate lobes, but the · differences are · not 

great. 

Newberry39 also reported .Lygodium leaves 

from Fletts Creek and Carbonado, Wash. 

[Puget group], which, he said, 

offer no cha,racters by which they can be distinguished 

from those found in the Green River group, and it seems 

to me probable that we have in all these specimens relics 

of one of th0se widespread and long-lived species which 

occur at different geological horizons among both animal 

and plant remains. 

Newberry's conclusion has. since been verified 

by the finding of specimens identified 40 as 

Lygodium. kaulfussii on Elk Creek, _in the · 

Yellowstone National Park, in· beds believed 

to be of Fort Union age, and also on the bank 

as Gardner, J. S., British Eocene flora, pt.1, Filices, p. 47, pls. 7, 1884. 

39Newberry, J. S., U.S. Geol. Survey Mon.35, p. 3, 1.898. · · 

•o Knowlton, F. H., U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 32, pt. 2, p. 672, pl. 80, 

figs. 1-3, 1898. 
_, . 

. :· :,,. 

150 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 192~ 

of · Lamar River between Cache and Calfee 

creeks, in beds of Miocene age. The specimens 

from Elk Creek are as large as the largest 

specimens from Green River figured by Newberry, and the specimens from Lamar River 

are about the size of the smaller ones figured 

.by Newberry. 

The collections from the Green River shales 

made by D. E. Winchester in northwestern 

Colorado include a number of specimens of 

Lygodium kaulfussii that are undoubtedly 

identical with certain of the smaller ones 

figured by Newberry. Only one of these 

has been figured here. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

. River, Wyo., collected by C. A. White about 

1879~; Barrel Springs, Wyo., type locality 

for Lygodium neuropteroides, collected by F. 

V. Hayden, 1870; spring on Little Duck 

Creek, Rio Blanco County, Colo., and sec. 33, 

T. 4 S., R. 100 W., Colo., collected by D. E. 

Winchester, 1917. 

Lygodium dentoni Lesquereux. 

Lygodium dentoni Lesquereux·, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 383, 1875 [1876]; U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 

63, pl. 65, figs. 12, 13, 1878. 

The status of this species is unsatisfactory. 

The type specimens are now lost, and our 

knowledge of it depends on the two fragments 

figured by Lesquereux. It appears to be a 

Lygodium, but it is so fragmentary that there 

is little use in attempting comparison with 

other species. 

Occurrence: Green River formation (?), 

mouth of White River, Wyo. 

Family OSMUNDACEAE 1 

Osmunda? sepulta (Newberry) Knowlton, n. comb. . . 

Pecopteris (Phegopteris) sepulta Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

Proc., vol. 5, p. 503, 1883. 

Pecopteris (Cheilanthes) sepulta Newberry, U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 12, pl. 62, figs. 5, 5a, 6, 1898. 

Described as follows by Newberry: 

Frond small, delicate, pinnate; lower pinnae straight, 

broadly linear in outline, rounded above, attached to the 

rachis by the whole breadth of base; margins strongly 

lobed by the confluent pinnules, 1 centimeter wide by 5 centimeters long; upper pinnules crowded, conical in outline, 

gently curved upward, with waved or lobate margins; 

pinnules united by one-third of their length, oblong, obtuse; basal ones on lower side round, on the upper side 

. flabellate, both attached by all their lower margin to the 

rachis of the frond; nervation strong and wavy, consisting 

of one many-branched nerve stem in each pinnule, each 

branch once or twice forked; fructification unknown. 

The two figured types of this species are in 

the United States National Museum (Nos. 7042, 

7043). Of course Newberry recognized the 

fact that this fern should properly be referred 

to a modern genus, and pending the determination of what that genus should be he referred it 

temporarily to Pecopteris. At different times 

in considering this species Newberry employed 

Phegopteris and Oheilanthes as subgenera, and 

in his final discussion of its possible affinities he 

mentioned. (}leichenia, but in the absence of 

fructification all were dismissed as improbable. 

I have ventured to transfer this form tentatively to the genus Osmunda, as it seems to 

agree in a number of respects with certain fossil 

species that have been so referred. We still 

lack the fruit, and in its absence any ref~rence 

is more or less open to uncertainty, but it is 

impossible to permit this form to remain under 

Pecopteris. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., collected by C. A. White. 

Order MARATTIALES. 

Family MARATTIAC;EAE. 

Danaea coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVI,,figure 4. 

This species is based on the impression of the 

under side of the terminal portion of a pinnule 

in fruit. Its length is about 13 millimeters 

and its width 4 millimeters, and as it is broken 

squarely across the base there is strong presumptive evidence that it was considerably 

longer when living . . It was evidently thick 

and fleshy and had a very ~trong midrib, and 

the synangia are closely packed on either side, 

though not quite reaching the margin, where 

there is a distinct fleshy rim. As the apical 

pores of the sporangia do not show it is presumed that the fruit was not quite mature. 

Among living species it appears to approach 

most closely in size and general appearance 

Danaea fendleri Underwood, of the 'Island of 

Trinidad, but it differs specifically in having the 

synangia relatively very broad and short. 

The genus Danaea is represented by about 

25 species confined to tropical America from 

Cuba and southern Mexico to Brazil. They 

are terrestrial ferns of rather coarse habit and 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF 

are dimorphous, with simply. pinnate fronds 

(simple in one species) with linear segments 

bearing parallel linear synangia, each composed of two rows of closely packed sporangia 

{)pening by a terminal pore. These _fruiting 

·characters are so strongly marked that there 

is little difficulty in recognizing a fossil form 

that is adequately preserved. 

The species here described is not only the 

·_first North American fossil form to be made 

known, but it _ is apparently the OD:ly -fossil 

species thus far described from any part of the 

world that is reasonably authenticated. Thus, 

Racyborski 41 described a species from the 

Jurassic of Krakow, ·Poland, under the name 

Danaea microphylla, but it has the outline, size, 

·and nervation of a Taeniopteris (cf. T. parvula 

Beer). The fruit as figured may entitle it to be 

· included in the Marattiaceae, but it is so unlike 

the fruit of Danaea that it can hardly be placed 

ill this genus. Several Carboniferous species 

were described originally under the name 

Danaea, but they have later and more correctly 

been referred to Danaeites, Danaeopsis, etc. 

The Marattiaceae are supposed to be of very 

ancient lineage-in fact, up to a decade or so 

ago it was commonly believed that they formed 

a dominant element in the forests of the coal 

age, but with the discovery of the "ever-widening territory of the pteridosperms" they have 

been brought more or less in question. Arber 

says: 

The evidence, formerly regarded as beyond suspicion. 

· that the eusporangiate ferns formed a dominant feature of 

the vegetation of the Paleozoic period has been undermined, more especially by the remarkable discovery of 

the male organs of Lyginodendron by Mr. Kidston. At 

best we can only now regard them as a subsidiary group 

in the epoch of the past history of the vegetable kingdom. 

Even the reproductive organs are no longer 

decisive unless ·the seeds are found, for, as 

Seward says :1 

We can not in most cases be certa:iri whether the small 

sporangium-like bodies on fertile pinnules are true fern 

sporangia or the micro-sporangia of a heterospor6us pteridosperm. What is usually called exannulate fern sporangium * * * has no distinguishing features which can 

be used as a decisive test. The micro8porophylls of the 

Mesozoic Bennettitales produced their spores in sporangica1 

compartments grouped in synangia like those of recent 

Marattiaceae. 

The Pteridospermae so far as known disappeared with the end of the Paleozoic era, and 

41 Racyborski, Maryjan, Pamietnik Akad. Umiejetn. , vol. 18, p. 155, 

pl. 6, figs. 1-6, 1894. 

THE GREEN RIVkR FORMATION. 1 [ _:_ 

the marattiac ous type was carried on to the 

present by sparsely represented forms, such as 

Marrat'iopsis, Danaeopsis, Bernouillia, and perhaps Nathors#a of the Lower Cretaceous of 

Greenland, and a supposed Tertiary species of 

Marattia ( M.

1 hookeri Gardner and Ettinghausen) from lthe Eocene of the Isle of Wight. 

It is therefore~ of interest to be able to add another step in I the recorded progress from the 

Paleozoic to he present in the shape of an 

undoubted Danaea from the middle Eocene of 

America.- I 

This specimen has been submitted to Mr. Wm. 

R. Maxon, of 1

the United States National Herbarium, and he pronounces it unqualifiedly as 

referable to ~anaea. Occurrence: Green River formation, oil shale, 

Rio Blanco Cqunty, about 40 miles southwest of 

Meeker, Colo.(_ collected by D. E. Winchester, 

1917. . Order EQUISETALES. 

ll'~mily ~QUISETACEAK I 

Equisetum wyomingense Lesquereux. 

Equisetum wyomingense Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Suryey Terr. Ann. Rept. , for 1873, p. 409, 

1874; U. ~~. Gool. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora:i, p. 69, pl. 6, figs. 8-11, 1878. 

Newberry, 1 . S. Gool. Survey Mon. 35, p. 15, pl. 65, 

fig. 8, 189~ . 

Lesquereu]J' s description and figures of this 

species are rather vague and unsatisfactory. 

He states that the specimens are preserved on a 

large slab of very hard white shale, which is 

"covered with a profusion of fragments of the 

same plants, rootlets, rhizomes, stems crushed, 

pressed together, and rarely separated distinctly enoug-h to clearlyshowtheir characters." 

He further states that the stems and rhizomes 

are equally and regularly striate, and the 

"~heaths arEJ dentate on the borders, and 

short. " The! stems and rhizomes are or equal 

size, about httlf a centimeter in width. 

Newberry figures a single stem from Green 

River under Lesquereux's name but makes no 

comment orl comparison in the text. The 

figured specimen is a fragment, of st~m about 

6 centimeters long and 0.5 centimeter wide and 

shows three heaths with some 10 or 12 slender, sharp-p inted teeth. It is difficult to 

detern1ine whether this is really the same as 

Lesquere~x's1 Equisetum wyom,ingense, bu~ it 

perhaps 1s J?est left as at present pending 

additional in!formation. I 
152 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, type 

found 3 miles east of Green River, Wyo.; Newberry's specimen from Green River. 

Phylum SPERMATOPHYTA. 

Class ANGIOSPERMAE. 

Subclass MONOCOTYLEDONES. 

Order GRAMINALES. 

ArJindo reperta Lesquereux. 

Arundo reperta Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 384, 1875 [1876]; idem, 

Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 311, 1876; U.S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 87, pl. 8, figs. 

6-8, 1878. 

This species, it seems to me, is very unsatisfactory, and the propriety of recognizing it is 

doubtful. It·was described by Lesquereux as 

follows: 

Stem thick, distinctly articulate; surface striate, marked 

with round obtuse knots, either placed. at the articulation 

or here and there scattered upon the stem; fruiting panicle 

crushed, oval-oblong; bearing ovate-lanceolate seeds, and 

pallets mixed with a coating of hairs. 

All the figured types of this form are in the 

United States National Museum (Nos. 96, 119) 

and are before me. The stem is striate, as de-

. scribed, and was apparently circular in cross 

section before it was entombed but is now much 

flattened. It may have been a hollow reedlike 

stem, but it also suggests a decorticated 

branch of a tree. The so-called articulation is 

only a check or crack filled with mud and thus 

simulating a joint. The "knots" are difficult 

to interpret! There are two in line · with the 

axis of the stem, and they are about 7 millimeters in diameter and some 3 millimeters high. 

They seem to rest on and hardly to be a part of 

the organic structure of the stem-in fact, they 

have much the appearance of being little mud 

balls that happened to lodge on the specimen. 

The specimen described as an underground 

stem i~ apparently correctly placed-that is to 

say, the scars, which occur at fairly regular 

intervals, are clearly the scars of roots or rootlets. The type specimen is fully 18 centimeters 

long and shows little diminution in size. 

The qluster of seeds, although seemingly 

quite complete as depicted in the drawing, ttre. 

really so obscure and fragmentary as to be 

almost ·impossible of accurate determination. 

A few of the specimens have somewhat the 

appearance of the palets of a large grass, but 

I should hesitate to say positively that this is 

their nature. 

There is also little basis for supposing that 

these several organs are really parts of one 

species of plant. They are, indeed, associated 

on the same piece of matrix, but there is no 

positive evidence of former organic union. 

With the above strictures this form is left 

as last revised by Lesquereux, but with the 

frank admission that it is seemingly of very 

little biologic or stratigraphic value. · . 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., above the fish beds. 

Family CYPERACEAE. 

Cyperus chavannesi Heer. 

Cyperus chavannesi Herr, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 1, 

p. 72, pl. 22, fig. 7; pl. 28, :fig.1, 1855. 

Cyperus " chavanensis"? Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. 

and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, 'p. 

291, 1872; U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 

(Tertiary flora), p. 92, pl. 9, figs. 1, ~ 1878. 

Lesquereux first mentioned this species as 

coming from Evanston, Wyo., . "below the 

coal." Later, in the "Tertiary flora," it 

was given as coming from Green River, Wyo., 

and one of the figured specimens (pl. 9, fig. 1, 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 122) is in the United 

States National Museum. ·It is a mere frag-

·ment from the middle area of a large leaf and 

must be considered as doubtfully the same as 

the European type. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo.' 

Cyperacites haydenii (Lesquereux) Knowlton. 

Cyperacites haydenii (Lesquereux) Knowlton, U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 152, p. 83, 1898. 

Cyperites haydenii Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept. , vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 

140, pl. 23, figs. 1-3a, 1883. 

The types of this species are preserved in the · 

United States National Museum (Nos. 1565, 

1569). It has been well described and figured 

by Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Uinta 

(formerly incorrectly given as Randolph) 

County, Wyo. 

Order ARECALES. 

Family ARECACEAE. 

Geonornites haydenii (Newberry) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Manicaria haydenii Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 

5, p. 504, 1883; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 31, 

pl. 64, :fig. 3, 1898. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GR~EN RIVER FORMATION. 153 

The following description was given by New- Th~ followil g is Newberry's description: 

berry: · . 

Frond large, leaves pinnately . plica ted, folds l.5 centimeters in width above, slightly narrowed below; :flat or 

gently arched, smooth, springing from the midrib at an 

an~le of 25 °, 30° below; folds attached to the midrib [rachis] 

<>b~quely by the entire width, and to each other by their 

entire length (?); nervation fine, uniform (?), parallel. 

This G:reen River palm is very' imperfectly 

known-m fact, the only specimen I have 

seen is the type as figured by Newberry (U.S. 

Nat. Mus. No. 7016). It is impossible to det~rmine the position of this fragment in relatwn to the whole leaf, though from its 'size as 

-comp~red 'with leaves from other localities 

believed to be congeneric with it, it was 

probably from the middle or lower portion. 

Newberry was frank to state in the dis-

-cussion of his Manicaria haydenii that it 

-certainly belongs to the same genus as Lesquereux's Geonomites tenuirachis/2 and with 

this statement I am inclined to agree. I have 

:figured43 a m~ch larger and far more nearly 

-complete specrmen· of Geonomites tenuirachis 

·from the Raton formation, than Lesquereux'~ type, and from this it is fairly clear that the 

type specimen is a small segment from the 

upper portion of the leaf. I can see no char-

~cters by which this Green River palm can be 

-excluded from· Geonomites, and consequently. 

I have transferred it to this genus. It seems 

closer to Geonomites tenuirachis than to Mani~ 

caria formosa Heer, 44 from the Swiss Miocene 

with which · Newberry compared it-in fact' 

it would be difficult with the scant material 

available to separate them specifically. · How-

-ever, as they are so imperfectly known and 

as there is so much difference in their s~rati­ graphic. position, it is perhaps best to reg,ard 

Geonom~tes haydenii as distinct until its status 

-can be settled with better material. 

Occurrence: Green River formation Green 

River, Wyo. ' 

Sabal powellii Newberry. 

.Sabal powellii Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 5, 

p. 504, 1882 [1883]; U. S. Geol. Survey :Mon. 35, 

p. 30, pl. 63, fig. 6; pl. ~~' figs. 1, la, 1898. 

42 Lesquereux, Leo, U . S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

ilora), p. 117, pl. 11, fig. 1, 1878. · 

43 Knowlton, F. H., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101 p. 291 pf , 62 

:1917. . ' ' . ' 

44"Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 1, pl. 38, 1856. 

Leav;es of medium size, 4 or 5 feet in dia.meter, petiole 

smooth, unarmed, terminating above . in an angular or 

rounded area froin :which the folds diverge beneath, concavely narrowing to form a spike 3 or 4 inches in length ; 

rays about 50, radiating from the end of the petiole, 

perhaps 60 in the entire leaf, compressed to acute 

wedges where th y issue from the petiole; . strongly angled 

and attaining a maximum width of about 1 inch; nerves 

fine, about 12 stronger ones on each side of the keel, with 

finer intermediate ones too obscure for enumeration. 

AJ.though the remains of palms are abundant . I . . rn a number of Tertiary formations they are 

unusually difficult of satisfactory diagnosis. 

Their large ize, the fragmentary state in 

whi.ch they are usually collected, and the lack 

of good diagnostic characters in the leaves 

make their identification more or less uncertain. 

T~e allocatio:r;t of Sabal powellii ·is a case in 

pornt. In his discussion Newberry points 

out that it bears considerable resemblance 

to Sabal? eocenica (Lesquereux) Knowlton 

(formerly Fldbellaria eocenica) . as figured by 

Lesquereux, 45 differing in having a larger number 

of folds and ~ longer point of support on the 

under side of the leaf. Newberry also compares 

his species tol Sabal~tes grayanus (Lesquereux) · 

Lesquereux, ut this has been since divided . . 

The type locality was the Wilcox group of the 

Gulf region, and the name Sabalites grayanus is 

retain_ed for jthis form, which has also been 

reported from the 'Lara:rpie, Lance, and Raton 

formations. The large leaves, which are evidently the onts Newberry had in mind, mainly 

from . the Molljtana group, have been separated 

under the name Sabal? montana Knowlton. 46 . 

Although this · species is still imperfectly 

known it s~eFs ~o be. distinguishable by its 

very large s1ze, be1ng perhaps the largest palm 

in the Rocky Mountain region, and by the 

greater number of folds (-about 90). 

Sabal grandifolia Newberry 47 is another 

large-leaved fpalm th~t m·ay be compared 

with Sabal powellii. It has nearly twice the 

number of fo1ds . 

Occurrence r Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. 

45 .Lesquereux, Led, U. S. Geol: Survey Terr. Rept., v.ol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), pl. 13, figs. 1-3, 1878. 

46 Kno~lton, F. H J' U. S. Geol. Surv. ey Prof. Paper. 101, p. 253, pl. 32, 

fig. 3, 1918. . 

47 Newberry, J. s.1 U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 28, pl. 25; pl. 63, 

:ijg. 5 (not pl. 64, figs, 2, 2a), 1898. 
154 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS . TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Flabellaria fiorissanti Lesquereux. 

Flabellaria florissanti Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 144, pl. 24, figs. 1-2a, 18,83. 

The following is Lesquereux's characterization of this species : 

Fronds large; rays diverging all around from the top 

of the long, nearly flat, unkeeled rachis; rays larg~, very 

numerous, acutely keeled; primary nerves distinct; close 

intermediate ve,inlets three or four. 

/Lesquereux did not give any actual dimensions, and the two figured types are all of the 

original- material now known to be extant. 

Subsequently, however, L. F. Ward collected 

extensively at Green River station, at a point 

known locally as Bell's fish cliff, and procured 

some very large palm leaves that in all reasonable probability are the same as Lesquereux's 

species. It must have been at least 5 feet in 

diameter and has the same rather slender 

petiole as the figured type. Our specimen 

includes the outer edge of the leaf and shows 

that the rays are split apart for a distance of 

at least 20 centimeters. 

Occurence: Green River formation [types], 

Uinta (formerly incorrectly called Randolph) 

County, Wyo.; Bell's fish cliff, Green River, 

Wyo., collected by L. F. Ward. 

Order XYRIDALES. 

Family PON~EDERIACEAE. 

Genus PONTEDERITES Knowlton, n. gen. 

Pontederites hesperia Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVI, figure 6. 

Although it is perhaps more or less hazardous to base . a new genus on a single fragment, the present one seems ·so distinct that 

it merits at least temporary characterization 

until1p.ore complete .material can be procured. 

. It is the well-preserved upper part of a leaf 

that was presumably broadly ovate below and 

rather abruptly narrowed above into a deltoidlanceolate apical, portion, 1 centimeter wide at" 

the base, 2 centimeters long, and acute at the 

tip. The length of the part preserved is 8 

centimeters and the width about 5 centimeters. 

The total length was presumably not less than 

12 or 15 centimeters. It is ·unfortunate that 

the shape of the base is unknown. The nervation consists of numerous close, mainly parallel veins that arise from a slightly enlarged 

midvein which is reduced in the apical portion 

to the same size as the other veins. Those 

that can be seen arise from the midvein at 

a very acute angle--about 80°-but in the 

lower portion they are closer together and 

apparently arise at a less acute angle. The 

veins spread in the broad portion of the blade, 

then approach again in the upper part, where 

some of them terminate, only about a dozen. 

passing into the reduced apical portion. A 

few. intermediate veins come up from the. 

lower portion of the blade and die out above, 

but so far as can be ascertained there are no 

fine intermediate veinlets, or at least but faint 

traces of them. There are, however, . numerous cross veinlets, mainly at right angles. 

to the veins. 

This leaf appears to resemble most closely 

the leaves of Pontederia cordata Linne, the 

well-known pickerel weed, which grows on. 

the borders of ponds and streams from Nova. 

Scotia to Minnesota and south to Florida and 

Texas. In the living plant the thick, petioled 

leaves are ovate, cordate-sagittate, and 5 to 20 

centimeters long, with the basal and apical lobes. 

rounded. · It has. a fairly distinct midrib in 

the lower portion, but this disappears above. 

It is, of course, much to be regretted that the 

basal portions of these leaves can not be compared, but such a comparison must await 

more nearly perfect specimens. So far as the 

available material goes I can see no essential 

difference between the fossil and the living 

forms, and the name given to the genus brings. 

out this point. 

The fossil has some resemblance to certain 

forms that have been referred to Canna, such 

as Canna eocenica Berry/8 from the Wilcox 

group of the Gulf region, but this is more nearly 

lanceolate, with no contraction into. the reduced 

apical portion. The midrib is also strongerin Canna eocenica. 

The only other Green River monocotyledon 

with which it could possibly be compared is. 

Musophyllum complicatum Lesquereux/9 but. 

this is of a totally different character. 

Under the name Zingiberites dubius Lesquereux50 . described a fragment from the Denverformation of Colorado, but this is too much 

broken to give any reliable conception of its. 

48 Berry, E. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p.181, pl.15, figs. 

7, 8, 1916. 

49 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 96, pl. 15, figs. 1-6, 1878. 

50 Idem, pl. 16, fig. 1. 
\. 

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 155 

form and size, and hence it can not be compared with the present form. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Greasewood Creek, Rio Blanco County, 40 miles west 

of Meeker, Colo., collected by D. E. Winchester~ 

1917. 

Order LILIALES. 

Family JUNCACEAE. 

Juncus sp. Lesquereux. 

Juncu,s sp. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 0-eog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872 . . 

Lesquereux says: 

Fragments of stems of various sizes, like Juncus retractus 

Heer, _or Juncu,s scheuzeri Heer, in Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, pl. 30, figs. 2e, 3c. 

These specimens ar~ not known to ~e in 

existence, and the species should probabiJ; be 

discarded. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. 

MONOCOTYLEDONAE OF UNCERTAIN POSITION. 

Musophyllum complicatum Lesquereux. 

Musophyllum cornplicatum Lesquereux, U. S. G~ol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1873, p. 418, 

1874; U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 96, pl. 15, figs. 1-6, 1878. 

Most of the type material on which this 

species is based is preserved in the United States 

National Museum (Nos. 13'2-135). It is very 

obscure and difficult to interpret, and on this 

point Lesquer.eux said: 

The exact character of these leaves, especially their 

form, their size, and their relation to the main stem, or 

stipe, is very obscure. I have found a bed of shale nearly 

1 foot thick :filled entirely with fragments of this species 

and have worked a whole day with a miner, trying, without 

avail, to get specimens more definite than those which are 

figured here. Large pieces of shale -are covered with 

fragments of leaves, folded in various ways, where no trace 

of any middle nerve may be discovered. This proves 

the large size of the leaves. 

As nearly as can be made out it may be 

described as follows: Stem or stipe very stout, 

at least 3 centimeters in width, lo~gitudinally 

wrinkled and striate. Leaves large, with a 

thick irregularly veined midrib 1 centimeter 

or more in width. Veins of the leaf numerous, 

thin but distinct, mainly simple but occasionally dichotomous, especially toward the 

margms. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, 8 miles 

southeast of Green River station, Wyo. 

Subclass DICOTYLEDONES. 

Order SALICALES. 

Family SALICACEAE. 

Salix linearis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figure 8. 

Leaf very small, linear-lanceolate, 3.5 centimeters long, 5 millimeters broad, with a petiole 

5 millimeters long; margin with a few rather 

remote teeth; midrib very strong; second. aries 

as many as the teeth, which they enter, arising 

at an angle about 40°, little curved upward; 

finer nervation not discernible. 

This little leaf is also the only one of its kind 

observe.d in the collections. It is perhaps 

hazardous to characterize a new Salix o'n a 

single leaf, but it differs so clearly from any 

other in the collection that it is presented with 

the reservation that it may be shown to belong 

elsewhere when more material is available. 

Among living species this strongly resembles 

a small leaf of Salix jluviatilis Nuttall, the wellknown sand-bar or river-bank willow, which 

ranges from Quebec to Oregon ~nd south to 

Virginia, Kentucky, and New Mexico. There 

is no fossil species, at least from the Green 

River, that could be confused with this. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, .· Rio 

Blanco County, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo. (sec. 33, T. 4 S., R. 100 W.), 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Salix longiacuminata Knowlton, n. sp. 

. Leaves thin but firm in texture, lanceolate, 

broadest a short distance above the base, 

whence it is gradually narrowed to a long, slenderly acuminate apex a:p.d to a wedge-shaped 

base; margin slightly irregular though scarcely 

to be called toothed; length 9 or 10 centimeters, 

width 1.2 centimeters; petiole slender, about 

1.75 centimeters long; midrib relatively very 

strong, especially in the lower third; secondaries numerous, arising at various angles, in the 

lower part falling below a right angle, then 

many nearly at a right angle, and finally some 

at an angle of perhaps 20°; all secondaries 

curved and each joining the one next above, 

forming a series of loops just within the margin; 

intermediate secondaries numerous; finer nervation irregularly quadrangular. 

The only sp~cimen found in the collections, 

a nearly perfect leaf, seems well characterized 

by its long, slenderly acuminate apex, thick 
156 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS . TO GENER.AL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

midrib, and very numerous secondaries, which 

arise at various angles and by joining form a 

series of bows well inside the margin. 

This leaf is not greatly different in size and 

shape from leaves referred by Lesquereux 51 to 

Salix angusta, though it is more slenderly acuminate, but it differs wholly in the secondary 

nervation. Thus, in Salix angusta the secondaries ·are numerous, close, parallel, and little 

curved upward, whereas in the present species 

the secondaries are more remote and by joining 

form a series of loops. 

Among other fossil species the present one 

resembles in nervation Salix arcinerva Heer,

52 

from the Swiss Miocene, but that species differs 

in shape and has the margin finely toothed. It 

also resembles in shape and somewhat innervation Salix longa Heer/3 from the same area, 

but that species is much larger and its secondaries do not form loops. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Rio 

Blanco County, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo. (se~. 33, T. 4 S.; R. 100 W.) , 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Salix sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figures 3-5. 

The collection made by Winchester includes a 

number of small leaves that appear to belong to 

Salix, though the nervation is so obscure that 

this assignment is not certain. They are 

linear-lanpeolate leaves, 3.5 to about 6 centimeters lorig and 6 to 10 millimeters wide, and have 

a petiole 5 or 6 millimeters .long. They a~e 

narrowed to a wedge-shaped base and are 

rather obtuse at the apex: The margin is perfectly entire. The nervation, with the exception of a relatively very strong midrib, is obscure but appears to consist of numerous thin 

secondaries at an angle of 35° or 40° that are 

camptodrome and arch just inside the margins; 

none of the fi:r;ter nervation is observable. 

Considering the uncertainty regarding these 

leaves it seems hardly worth while to a.ttempt 

comparisons with either living or fossil species. 

Small, narrow, entire willow leaves are so nondescript that it is difficult to be sure of their 

subsequent recognition, and for this reason the 

present form .has not been given a specific 

designation. · 

51 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geoi. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), pl. 22, fig. 4, 1878. 

52 Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 2, pl. 65, figs.4, 5,1856. 

58 Idem, pl. 69, figs. 12, 13. · 

Occurrence: Green River· formation, Rio 

Blanco .County, about 40 miles southwest of 

Meeker, Colo., collected by D. E. Winchester, 

1917. 

Salix sp. 

Salix media Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872; 

U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 168, pl. 22, fig. 3, 1878. 

The specimen on which Lesquereux based the 

presence of Salix media Heer in American beds 

is in the United States National Museum (No. 

198). It is a small leaf about 7 centimeters 

long and lacks most of one side and the tip. It 

is without a trace of nervation except a strong 

midrib, though secondaries have been added 

in the figure given in. the "Tertiary flora." 

The leaves from the Swiss Miocene referred by 

Heer 54 to Salix media are all mostly without 

nervation except the midrib, and of course it is 

easy to match the American leaf with one of 

these, but such a comparison is obviously without value. 

In the Museum collection · there is another 

leaf not figured that was identified by Lesquereux as Salix media-in fact, it is recorded 

under the same number (198) as the otherbut it is a long, narrow leaf with obscurely preserved nervation in which a small portion is 

so preserved as to show an intramarginal vein, 

as in Eucalyptus? americana, and it should be 

referred to that species~ 

As the leaf figured by Lesquereux is so 

obscure it is here removed from Salix media 

and regarded as Salix sp. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo.; also reported from Elko, Nev. 

Order MYRICALES. 

Family MYRICACEAE. 

Myrica salicina Unger. 

Myrica salicina Unger, Genera et species plantarum fossilium, p. 396, 1850. . 

.Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. 

Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872. 

The status of this species is doubtful. It 

was identi:fi.ed by Lesquereux under the above 

name, but the specimen on which the identification was based is lost or merged with something else without a record of such transfer. 

It was neither figured nor again referred to by 

Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. 

s. Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 2, pl. 68, figs.l4-19, 1856. 

I 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 157 

Myrica minuta Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figure 12. 

Leaves coriaceous or at least firm in texture, 

linear-lanceolate, prolonged above to a slender 

acuminate apex and scarcely less so below to 

the narrowly wedge-shaped ·base; margin 

entire for the lower third, thence rather 

strongly toothed, the teeth moderately sharp; 

midrib relatively strong; secondaries numerous, 

thin, at an angle of about 40°, slightly curved 

upward, ending in the margin in the lower 

untoothed portion and in the teeth in the 

middle and upper portion. 

This little leaf, the only one observed, is 

about 18 millimeters long and 3 millimeters 

wide and has a delicate petiole 1 millimeter 

long. It is evidently rather thick, as the 

secondary nervation is faintly visible. 

This species is of the same type as Myrica 

scottii Lesquereux, ·from the Florissant lake 

· beds, but it is only one-fourth the length of 

that species- and has rather blunt instead of 

very sharp teeth. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, oil 

shale, Smith ranch, on Greasewood Creek, 

about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo., 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Myrica praedrymeja Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVI, figures 1-3. 

Leaves small, firm in texture, lanceolate, 

acuminate at apex, rounded below, with the 

sides of the leaf at angles of about 45°, slightly 

unequal sided; margin entire for a short distance, thence with numerous rounded teeth; 

petiole short, stout; midrib relatively very 

strong, straight; secondaries numerous, 18 

or 20 pairs, alternate, close, parallel, little 

curved upward, ending in the teeth; .finer 

nervation obsolete. 

This species is represented by a number of 

specimens, and three of the most nearly perfect 

ones are figured. They are 4 or 5.5 centimeters 

long and about 1.2 centimeters wide; with the 

petiole at least 4 millimeters long. This species 

is very closely similar to Myrica callicomaefolia 

Lesquereux55 (now Myricadrymeja (Lesquereux) 

Knowlton), from the Florissant lake bedsin fact, they may be identical. M. praedrymeja 

· ~ Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 146, pl. 26, figs. 5-14, 1883. 

91048°--23----11 

differs slightly, however, in having the marginal teeth obtuse · or rounded instead of 

sharp-pointed and a stronger nervation. These 

differences are not marked, and a fuller series 

might readily show them breaking down. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, oil 

shale, Smith ranch, on Greasewood Creek about 

40 miles southwest of Meeker, Rio ~lanco 

County, Colo., collected by D. E. Winchester, 

1917. 

· Myrica ludwigii Schimper. 

Myrica ludwigii Schimper, Paleontologie vegetale, vol. 2, 

p. 545, 1812. . ' 

Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., 

vol. 1, p. 385, 1875 (1876); idem, Ann.' Rept. for , 

· 1874, p. 311, 1876; U. S. Ge_ol. Survey Terr. Rept., 

voi. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 133, pl. 65, fig. 9, 1878. 

The single broken leaf figured is all there is 

to represent this species, and this is riow lost. 

Its status· is therefore rather unsatisfactory, 

but it will have to stand as above until f~rther 

material can be procured. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, mouth 

of White River (emptying into Green River), 

Wyo. 

Myrica sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figure 2. 

Winchester's collection contains a fragment 

that evidently belongs to Myrica, but it is so 

deficient · that I have not given it a specific 

name. It is a fragment 2.5 centimeters long 

and 0.5 centimeter wide, of the upper part of 

a linear-lanceolate, sharply acuminate leaf. 

The margin in the lower part is nearly entire, 

with only an occasional tooth, but in the upper 

part it is provided with low, obtuse, irregularly spaced teeth. The nervation consists of 

a relatively strong, straight midrib and very 

numerous secondaries that arise at a low angle 

and curve slightly in passing to the borders, 

which most of them seem to enter. These 

secondaries are somewhat irregularly placed; 

the finer nervation is not observable. 

This form has the same type of nervation 

as Myrica nigricans Lesquereux, but it differs 

in the narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, irregularly to_othed blade. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies Draw, 20 

miles. west of Rio Blanco post office, Rio 

Blanco County, Colo., collected by D. E. 

Winchester, 1917. 
• 

158 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO. GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Myrica sp. 

Plate XL, figure 13. 

· In the Winchester collection I find the single 

specimen here figured, which seems to be 

different from any other noted. It is coriaceous in texture, narrowly lanceolate, prolong~d above into an acute apex (base destroyed). It was probably 9 or possibly 10 

centimeters long and about 13 millimeters 

wide. The margin is remotely toothed, the 

teeth low and rather obtuse. The nervation 

consists of a very strong, straight midrib and 

numerous pairs of mainly alternate secondari~s which arise nearly at right angles to the 

midrib, considerably curved upward and ending in the teeth or in the margin; finer nervation not well preserved. 

This somewhat resembles what Lesquereux 

called Myrica nigricans 56 (now Rhu8 nigricans), 

but it is longer and more narrowly acuminate, 

and has fewer secondaries. It is even closer 

to Myrica ludwigii Schimper, as identified 

by Lesquereux 57 from the mouth of White 

River, Wyo., but that species is shorter and 

broader and has very large marginal teeth 

and different secondary nervation. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, head of 

Carr Creek, Garfield County, Colo., 30 miles 

northwest of De Beque, collected by D. E. 

Winchester, 1917. 

Comptonia? anomala Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figure 1. 

Leaf small, sessile, 2 centimeters long, 6 

millimeters wide; coriaceous; lanceolate, obtuse and rounded at apex, strongly unequalsided at base; margin strongly undulatetoothed, the teeth low and rounded; midrib 

very strong for the size .of the leaf; secondaries 

thin, opposite or nearly so, at a low angle, very 

little curved upward, ending in the marginal 

undulations; intermediate secondaries occasional; finer nervation obsolete. 

It is with grave doubt that this little leaf is 

referred to the genus Oomptonia. In the undulate-toothed margin , and in nerv~tion it 

seems identical with this genus, but the strongly 

unequal-sided base suggests that it is a leaflet and 

not a distinct leaf. However, I have IfOt thus 

5& Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 132, pl. 17, figs. 9-12, 1878. 

67 Idem, pl. 65, fig. 9. 

far been able to place it satisfactorily in any 

genus with compound leaves, and temporarily 

it is referred to Oo.mptonia. It is so strongly 

marked that it can easily be recognized in 

future and perhaps more correctly placed when 

opportunity otfers. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Smith 

ranch, on Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles 

southwest of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colo., 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Order JUGLANDALES. 

Family JUGLANDACEAE. 

Juglans occidentalis Newberry. 

Juglans occidentalis Newberry, U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 

5, p.507, 1882 [1883]; U. S.Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 

34, pl. 65, fig. 1; pl. 66, figs. 2-4 [not pl. 66, fig.1], 

1898. 

Juglans schimperi Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), pl. 56, figs. 7, 8, 10 

[not figs. 5, 6, 9, which remain under · Juglans 

schimperi], 1878. 

Hollick, Louisiana Geol. Survey Special Rept. 5, p. 

280, pl. 33, fig. 1; pl. 25, fig. 3 [not pl. 32, fig. 5?; 

pl. 33, fig. 2, which remain under Juglans schimpen], 

1899. 

Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 182, pl. 

18, figs. 3, 5 [not pl. 18, fig. 4, which remains under 

Juglans schimperi], 1916. · 

Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, pl. 64, 

fig. 1, 1918. 

Leaves supposedly pinnate; leaflets some-. 

what variable in form and size, from about8 

to 18 centimeters in length, 3 to 6 centimeters 

wide, generally about 15 centimeters long and 

4 centimeters wide, broad lanceolate, broadest 

near the middle, summit acute, base rounded, 

unsymmetrical; margin entire; midrib very . 

strong, straight; secondaries numerous, about 

20 pairs, rather slender, at a low angle of emergence, slightly curved upward, camptodrome, 

forming a series of bows or loops along the 

margin; finer nervation not well retained, but 

nervilles mainly oblique to the secondaries and 

unbroken. 

Juglans occidentalis was named and described by Newberry in 1883 but was not 

figured until the publication of his "Later 

extinct floras" in 1898. He stated that there 

were a large number of _ specimens in the collection submitted to him, some of which "are 

found attached to the stems that bore them, 

but generally separated and more or less torn 

and broken. The tree was evidently a strong-
REVIS;rON OF ~HE FLORA OF THE .GREEN RIVER FORMATION· 159 

f f th growing and Juglans schimperi Lesquereux. luxuriant one,.· or some o e 

leaves ~re not less than 8 inches in length." Juglans schimperi Lesquereux, U. -S. Geol. and Geog .. 

, Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 8, Newberry called attention to the fact that · 1872; U: s. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Ter-· 

his specimens were from the same locality as tiary jiora), p. 287, pl. 56, figs, 5, 6, 9 [not figs. 

that which furnished the leaves described by 7, 8, 10, ·which=Juglans occidentalis Newberry],. 

Lesquereux as Juglans schimperi but con- . H~~~k, Louisiana Geol. Survey Special Rept. 5,. 

eluded that the two were not identical, be- p. 280, pl. 32, fig. 5?; pl. 33,'fig. 2 [no~ pl. 3~, fig. 1;; 

cause Lesquereux had, described Juglans schim- pl. 35, fig. 3, :which=Juglans ocmdentaltS New-

. ·peri as long, narrow leaves, broadest !lear the berry], 1899. . . 

Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 182,. base and with a camptodrome nervation, · pl. 18, fig. 4; pl'. 19, fig. 4? [not pl. 18, figs. 3, 5,. 

whereas Newberry stated that in Juglans occi- which=Juglans occidentalis Newberry], 1916. 

dentalis .-t a large part of the lateral nerves ter- Leaves firm in texture, pinnately compoundr 

minate in the margins, and the tertiary herva- leaflets lanceolate, 8 to 14 centimeters long, 2 

tion is more open and irregular." to 3.5 centimeters wide, broadest near the 

The figured types of both species are befo~e abruptly rounded and equal-sided base-, tape:-

me and disclose that Newberry was wrong In ing to a long, slender . point above; margin 

saying that a large part of the nerves terminate entire, slightly undulate; petiolule very. short;; 

in the margins in his species; they are all midrib very strong, straight; secondanes nu-· 

camptQdrome and form loops along the mar- merous about 18 p·airs, rather thin, emerging 

gin, exactly as described by Lesquereux for at angl~s of 40° to 50°, close, parallel, slightly 

his Juglans schimperi. This character there- curved in ascending to the middle of the area, 

fore fails) and the only way of distinguishing but more and gradually curved ·on nearing the 

them is by the long1 narrow, sharp-pointed margin, which they closely follow in· ~i~ple 

leaflets with a rounded equal-sided base and bows. secondaries connected by close, distinct 

slightly m~re acute-angled secondaries in nervilles, generally at right angles to the~. Juglans schimperi, and the broader, less acu- Juglans schimperi was named and described 

ruinate leaflets -with unequal-sided base and by Lesquereux in 1872· but was not figured 

very low-angled secondaries in Juglans occi- until the publication of the "Tertiary flora" 

dentalis. But, as pointed out in the discussion in 1878. Six specimens were figured as the. 

:of Juglans schimperi below, the possibility types, and all are in the United States National 1 

~ho~ld be considered that the leaflets now Museum and are before me. · .Although several 

iillocated to Jugl<ins schimperi may be terminal of the specimens are fragmentary, it has long: 

leaflets, ~nd if .so all would naturally have to seemed to me that -they show differences that 

be included under Lesquereux's species. It is might amount to specific distinctness, but they 

also pointed out in the discussion of Juglans have never before been very critically examschimperi that the disposition mentioned makes ined. Three specimens (Tertiary flora, pl. 56, 

necessary certain transfers of figures from one figs. 5, 8, 9) are long, narrowly acuminate leafto the other. Thus, those of Lesquereux's 'lets with an equal-sided base, whereas the othtypes of Juglans schimperi will go to Jur;lans ers (figs. 7, 8, 10) are markedly unequal-sided at 

occidentalis. .All but two of the leaflets iden- the base and have the secondaries at a much 

tified by Hollick as Juglans schimperi from the lower angle. 

Wilcox group will go to Juglans occidentalis, A few years later Newberry studied ~ large 

as indicated in the above synonymy. These number of very well preserved leaves from the 

figures as reproduced by Berry _in his pa:per o~ same locality (Green River, Wyo.) that had 

the Wilcox flora will have · the same disposi- supplied Lesquereux'.s types o~ Juglans schimtion, and the leaflets from the Raton flora that peri. 'rhese Newberry 58 de~cnbe~ and figured 

I identified as Juglans schimperi will also find under the name Juglans occ~dentahs. It needs 

place under Juglans occidentalis. · · · but a glan~e to show that so far as t~e bas~ ~f 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green · the leaflets is concerned Juglans occ~dentahs Is 

River, ·Wyo. Wilcox group, Louisiana and absolutely identical ~th the three figures 

Mississippi. · Raton formation, northeastern 58 Newberry, J. s., u.s. Geol. survey Mon. 35, p. 34, pl. 65, fig. 1; 

New Mexico. and southeastern Colorado. pl. 66, figs. t-4c, 1898. 
160 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

above mentioned (figs. 7, 8, 10) of Lesquereux's Juglans . schimperi, and the . question 

immediately arises as to the disposition that is 

to be made of the various forms. If all the 

specimens figured by Lesquer~ux as types of his 

J uglans schimperi are considered as conspecific, 

then Newberry's Juglans occidentalis must be 

referred to it. However, it seems best to regard 

Juglans schimperi as a composite species and to 

retain the narrow, sharp-pointed leaflets with 

an equal-sided base and allocate them to Lesquereux's name, referring the unequal-sided 

specimens to Juglans occidentalis. The possibility is not to be lost sight of, however, that 

the narrow leaflets may be really terminal leaflets and hence would be likely to have an equalsided base, but thus far no specimens have 

been found that show the leaflets attached. 

The proposed splitting up of J uglans schimperi makes some complications with certain 

subsequent identifications. Thus, Hollick 59 

referred a nu:mber of leaflets from the Wilcox 

group of Louisiana to Juglans schimperi Lesquereux. Of the four examples figured only 

one (pl. 33, fig. 2) appears to belong ·to Lesquereux's species as now restricted. 

Hollick's figures above mentioned were republished by Berry 60 in his paper on the Wilcox 

flora, but only figure 4 of Plate XVIII is to be 

retained under J uglans schimperi, the others 

going to Newberry's species. 

In my report on the flora of the Raton formation 61 I identified a single leaflet as J uglans 

schimperi on the basis of its resemblance to 

leaflets so identified by Hollick. This now 

becomes Juglans occidentalis. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. Wilcox group, Louisiana and 

Mississippi. Beds of Wilcox age, western 

Kentucky. Denver formation, Golden, Colo. 

Clarno formation (upper part), Bridge Creek, 

Oreg. 

Juglans crossii Knowlton. 

Juglans crossii Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 152, 

p. 122, 1898. 

Juglans dentieulata Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 298, 1872; 

U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora),· p. 289, pl. 58, fig. 1, 1878. [Homonym, 

Weber, 1852.] 

59 Hollick, Arthur, Louisiana Geol. Survey Special Rept. 5, p. 280, 

pl. 32, fig. 5; pl. 3'3, figs. 1, 2; pl. 35, fig. 3, 1899. 

oo Berry, E. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p.182, pl.18, figs. 

3-5; pl. 19, fig. 4, 1916. 

61 Knowlton, F. H., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, p. 296, pl. 64, 

fig.1, 1918. 

The first locality from which this species was 

identified by Lesquereux appears to have been 

the Bozeman coal field of Montana, in beds 

.presumed to belong to the Livingston formation, but the only specimen figured in the 

"Tertiary flora" was obtained at Green River, 

Wyo., above the so-called fish beds. This 

specimen is in the United States National 

Museum (No. 482) and has been fairly well 

described and figured. . This species has also 

been reported fronL the Hanna formation of 

Carbon, Wyo. 

Juglans alkalina Lesquereux. 

Juglans alkalina Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 382, 1875 [1876]; idem, Ann. 

Rept. for 1874, p. 308, 1876; U. S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 288, pl. 62, 

figs. 6-9, 1878. 

Leaves pinnately compound; leaflets lanceolate, tapering upward to a long acumen, either narrowed or rounded 

to a short petiole; borders crenulate; lateral veins distant, 

mostly alternate, parallel, separated by short intermediate 

tertiary veins, curving in passing toward the borders at an 

open angle of divergence and ascending high along them 

in festoons; nervilles in right angle to the veins, branching 

in the middle, and forming by subdivisions irregularly 

quadrate or polygonal meshes.-Lesquereux. 

Three of the four types of this speciesfigures 6, 7, and 8 of Plate LXII in the "Tertiaryflora"-are preserved in the United States 

National Museum collections (Nos. 527-529). 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Alkali 

stage station, 30 miles north of Green River, 

Wyo. 

Juglans winchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVIII, figure 5. 

Leaflet firm in texture, elliptical or ovateelliptical, strongly unequal-'sided, broadest 

near the middle, thence gradually narrowed to 

an apparently rather obtuse apex and downward to the rounded base; margin entire below, 

then obscurely toothed, the teeth low; petiole 

short, very thick and stout, curved; · midrib 

very thick just above the petiole, very much · 

thinner above; secondaries ten or twelve pairs, 

alternate, at irregular distances, arising at very 

l(')w angles, much curved upward, campto-

<home, sending slender branches to the marginal teeth; nervilles strong. 

The specimen figured is the only one of this 

species noted. It is about 9 centimeters long 

and 4.5 centimeters wide. The petiole is 

3 millimeters thick and about 8 millimeters 

long. · 
REVlSJON OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 161 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Rio 

Bl~nco County, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo. (sec. 33, T. 4 S., R. 100 W.), 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. . 

Order FAGALES. 

Family FAGACEAE. 

Quercus castaneopsis Lesquereux. 

Quercus castaneopsis Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept. vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 155, pl. 28, :fig. 10, 1883. 

Quercus castanoides Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc. 

vol. 5, p. 506, 1883; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35; 

p. 70, pl. 65, fig. 6, 1898. 

Leaf firm in texture, lanceolate or narrowly 

ovate-lanceolate, 12 to 16 centimeters long, 

2.5 to 6 cen~imeters wide, narrowly acuminate 

at the apex, rather abruptly rounded to· a 

wedge-shaped base; margin remotely and 

somewhat irregularly set with coarse teeth 

so:me. of the~ spinous; nervation strong, th~ midrib esp~mally so, straight; secondaries 

nume~ous, 18 or 20 pairs, unequally spaced, 

emergrng nearly at right angles, slightly curved 

upward, all camptodrome, curving near the 

borders, following them and entering the short 

teeth by oblique nervilles; areolation of minute 

polygonal meshes. 

T~is description is- drawn from the type 

specrmens of Quercus castaneopsis Lesquereux 

an~ Quercus castanoides Newberry, both of 

whiCh are preserved in the United States 

National Museum (Nos. 1575 and 7044 respectively). Leaves obviously of the ~arne species were described independently by Lesquereux and Newberry, but as Lesquereux's 

publication antedates that of Newberry by a 

few months his name is selected as the one the 

species is, to .bear. Both noted the resemblance 

to leaves of Castanea or Oastanopsis, and curiously enough both selected almost identical 

specific names. · 

Occurrence: Green River formation Uinta 

(formerly incorrectly called Randolph) 'county 

Wyo. (type of .Quercus castaneopsis Lesquereux); Green River, Wyo. (type of Quercus 

castanoides Newberry) .. 

vey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 141, 

pl. 62, figs. 1--4, 1878. 

Alnus inaequilateralis Lesquereux, U, S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 151, 1883. ' 

Planera variabilis Newberry, U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 5, 

p. 508, 1882 [1883]; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, 

p. 83, pl. 66, figs. 5, 6 [not fig. 7], 1898. 

Leaves evidently firm in texture, somewhat 

variable in size (4 to 8 centimeters long, 2.5 to 

6 centimeters wide), broadly ovate or nearly 

oval, acute or rather obtusely acute at apex, 

strongly unequal-sided at the rounded or · 

obtusely wedge-shaped base; margins crenulate-dentate; petiole short or absent; midrib 

strong, straight; secondaries mainly alternate, 

the lowest one on the broad . side of the leaf 

usually with several outside branches others 

considerably curved upward, ending ' in . the 

low teeth or sending out minor branches that 

enter the teeth; nervilles at right angles to ' 

the secondaries, mainly unbroken. 

This species as now accepted has had a rather 

complicated history. The original material 

was named and described, but not figured, by 

Lesquereux in 1875, under the name Alnites 

inaequilateralis. It was figured in the "Tertiary flora" (pl. 62, figs. 1-4) in 1878, but only 

two of the figured types (figs. 1 and 3) are now 

to be found in the collections of the United 

States National Museum. On the publication 

of the "Cretaceous and Tertiary floras, " in 

1883, Lesquereux changed the generic name to 

4-lnus. . 

S~bsequently C. A. White made a large collectiOn of plants from the same region that had 

supplied Lesquereux's Alnites or Alnus inaequilateralis. This material was desc~ibed by 

Newberry 62 in 1883 and contained several 

leaves that he named Planera variabilis. These 

~ere not figured, however, until 1898,63 when 

It was at once apparent that at least two~ of his 

figured types (figs. 5, 6) were identical with 

Lesquereux's Alnus inaequilateralis. 

Order URTICALES. 

Family ULMACEAE. 

Planer~ inaequilateralis (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Alnites inaequilateralis Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog. 

Of course Lesquereux's specific . name has 

priori~y, b~t a question arises as to the proper 

generic designatiOn. It does not seem to me 

that these leaves can belong to Alnus in 

· which, so far as I know, the leaves are ~ym­ metrical at the base. I have transferred them 

to Planer.a, . the genus adopted by Newberry, 

although It IS to be admitted that they differ 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol.l', p. 381,1875 [1876]; idem, 

Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 307, 1876; U. S. Ge.ol. Sur- 62 Newberry, J. S., U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 5, p. 508, 1883. 63 U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 83, pl. 66, 1898. 
162 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

in some particulars from leaves of the monotypic .living genus. The leaves of the living 

species, Planera aquatica Gmelin, are 5 or 6 

centimeters long, 2 to 3 centimeters wide, 

unequally wedge-shaped or rounded at the 

base, and with the margins coarsely crenulateserrate. They do not appear to have the lower 

secondary on the broad side of the leaf 

branched, but otherwise the difference is not 

great between these leaves and those of the 

fossil form under consideration. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Alkali 

stage station, Wyo. (type locality for Alnus 

inaequilateralis Lesquereux); Green River, 

Wyo. (type locality for Planera variabilis Newberry). 

Family MORACEAE. 

Ficus ungeri Lesquereux. 

Ficus ungeri Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl. , p. 7, 1872; U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 

195, pl. 30, :fig. 3, 1878; idem, vol. 8 (Cretaceous and 

Tertiary floras), p. 163, pl. 44, :figs. 1-3, 1883. 

The type of this species is the specimen 

figured [in the "Tertiary flora" (pl. 30, fig. 3) 

·and is No. 265 in the United States National 

Museum; it is very well described and figured. 

It came from Green River, Wyo., where it 

was found above the so-called fish beds. 

The specimens figured in the ''Cretaceous 

and Tertiary floras·" (pl. 44, fig~. 1-3) are all in 

the Museum collection (Nos. 1598, 1599, 1600). 

-They came from Alkali. stage station, which is 

about 30 miles north of Green River, Wyo. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, W,yo., above fish beds (type); Alkali 

stage station, 30 miles north of Green River, 

Wyo. 

Ficus wyomingiana Lesquereux. 

Fieus wyomingiana Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 387, 1875 [1876]; idem, 

Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 314, 1876; U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 205, pl. 

33, :fig. 3, 1878. . 

The type and so far as known the only specimen of this species thus far found is in the 

United States National Museum collection (No. 

289). It is fragmentary, lacking all of the 

upper portion and much of one side. As Lesquereux has said, this leaf is strikingly similar 

in general appearance to Ficus pseudo-populus 

Lesquereux, which was described from material collected at Evanston, Wyo., and which has 

since been found abundantly in the Raton formation of eastern Colorado and northeastern 

New Mexico and the Wilcox group of the Gulf 

region. · It differs, however, in having the 

lateral ribs running nearly or quite to the apex 

of the blade and in the absence of any secondary 

branches, the space between the midrib and 

the lateral ribs as well as between the ribs and 

the margin being filled with numerous fine 

nervilles, which are nearly at right angles to 

the midrib. 

Occurrence: Green River formation. Green 

River, Wyo. 

Ficus tenuinervis Lesquereux. 

Fieus tenuinervis Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept. , vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 164, pl. 44, :fig. 4, 1883. 

This is a mere fragment of the basal part of 

a leaf that Lesquereux says is "oblong, or 

lanceolate, tripalmately nerved, rounded at' 

base, entire." As it stands it is of comparatively little value, for it probably could 

not be identified again. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Alkali 

stage station, about 30 miles north of Green 

River, Wyo. 

Order PROTEALES. 

Family PROTEACEAE. 

Lomatia? microphylla Lesqu'ereux. 

Lomatia microphylla Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol.1, p. 389,1875 [1876];idem, 

Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 346, 1876; U. S. Ge<il. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 211, 

pl. 65, :figs. J4, 15, 1878. 

Described by Lesquereux as follows: 

Leaves very small, coriaceous, entire, linear-lanceolate, 

gradually narrowed from the middle to a point and in the 

same degree to the base; secondary veins simple, abruptly 

curving near the borders and following them or entering 

a marginal band. 

The two figured specimens on. which this 

species is based . are not now known to be in 

existence. The smaller is about 2 centimeters 

long and the larger one only 3 centimeters 

long; the -width is 2 to 4 millimeters. 

The generic reference of these little leaves is 

extremely uncertain. It is to be doubted if 

they. are correctly plaoed in Lomatia, though 

they somewhat resemble certain forms from 

.the Swiss Miocene so referred by Heer. They 

suggest leaflets of Mimosites, of Sophora, or of 

Sapindus, such as Sapindus angustifolius Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, near 

mouth of White River (emptying into Green 

River), Wy~. 
REVISI0N OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 

I 

163 

Order THYMELEALES. 

Family LArCEAE. 

Oreodaphne viridifium~sis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXV II, figure 6. 

Leaf coriaceous in te, ture, lanceolate, long 

wedge-shaped at the ase, probably about 

equally narrowed above, about 12 centimeters I 

long, 3 centimeters 1de; margin perfectly 

entire; petiole very strpng, 1-centimeter long, 

over 2 millimeters thict ; midrib straight, very 

thick below and in the middle <?f the leaf but 

becoming thin above; secondaries somewhat 

irregular, lowest pair slfl.bopposite, thin, at an 

angle of about 40°, eac~ running up for· some 

distance and joining the secondary next· above 

by a broad loop; nex~ secondaries alternate, 

much stronger, each joi~.I ing J the one above by a 

loop far inside the margin, then with a series 

of large bows on the ou er side; other secondaries similar, alternate, r ith a few intermediate 

secondaries joining the f r.imary ones; nervilles 

very numerous, mostly broken, forming large 

rectangular areas, and filled witlJ. irregularly 

quadrangular areas and these again with still 

finer nerves. I 

This is a very fine sp, cies, but unfortunately 

it is represented by o~ly the lower half of a 

leaf, though this is absolutely perfect. It may 

be known by its narrbwly lanceolate shape, 

short, very thick petiol , un~sually thick midrib' and the peculiar arching and branching 

secondaries. 

In shape and size this species see&s nearest 

to Oreodaphne salineJsis ·Berry,64 from the 

Wilcox group of Ark nsas, but it differs in 

nervation, especially in the secon9-aries. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Rio 

Blanco County, about 40 miles southwest of 

Meeker, Colo., collecte by D. E. Winchester, 

1917. ' 

Pimelea spatula Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXX II, figure 6 

Leaf apparently firrp. in texture; narrowly 

spatulate, broadest in the upper third, whence 

it tapers to an acuminf te apex a~d downward 

into a long, narrowlyfedge-shaped base that 

merges. with the petio~e; ~ervation consi~ting of 

a relatively strong m1 nb and numerous thin, 

close, nearly parallel _o_n_d_a_r_ie . _____ _ 

64 Berry, E. W., U. S. Geol. S vey Prof. Paper 91, p. 303, pl. 82, 

figs. 1, 2, 1917. 

This little leaf, which is the only one noted in 

the collection, is very narrowly spatulate, about 

17 millimeters long including the petiole, and 

about 4 millimeters wide. The base is so 

merged into thepetiole that no niore than a 

length of 4 millimeters can be considered as 

petiole. 

This species seems to approach most closely 

Pimelea delicatula Lesquereux, 65 from the lake 

beds at Florissant, Colo., but differs in being 

much smaller and narrower and in the apparently somewhat thicker substance of the leaf. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, oil shale, 

Cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies Draw, 

Rio Blanco County, about 20 miles west of 

Rio Blanco post office, Colo., collected by 

D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Order RANALES. 

Family NYMPHAEACEAE. 

Brasenia? antiqua Newberry. 

Brasenia antiqua Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 

5, p. 514, 1882 [1883]; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, • 

p. 93, pl. 68, fig. 7' 1898. 

The type of this. species is No. 7018 of the 

lJnited States National Museum collections and 

has been well described and figured by Newberry. No additional material has been procured, and h~nce there is nothing to make the. 

identification either more or Jess certain. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. 

Order ROSALES. 

Family CRASSULACEAE ~ 

Sedum? hesperium Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figure 7. 

Leaf apparently thick and fleshy, broadly 

lanceolate~ widest near the middle, thence narrowed to the obtusely wedge-shaped base, 

obtuse and obscurely three-lobed at the apex; 

margin with two or three large teeth or lobes 

on each side; petiole very thick and stout; 

nervation peculiar, consisting of a rather strong 

midrib and numerous thin veins that arise in 

the lower part of the blade and spread out, a 

few of them forking to occupy the area between midrib and margin. 

This form is represented by; the single specimen p.gured. It is about 2.4 centimeters long 

and 1 centimeter wide, with the thick petiole 

65 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous 

and Tertiary floras), p. 168, pl. 33, figs. 15, 16, 1883. 
164 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENE~ GEOLOGY, 1922. 

2 millimeters long. It is a very .peculiar leaf, specimen available (the original of fig. 13) 

well characterized b~ the thick, evidently is No. 1588 of the United States National 

fleshy substance, obtuse, three-lobed apex, Museum and is recorded as coming from Uinta 

several large irregular lobes or teeth, and above County, Wyo., and this record is borne out by 

all by the thick petiole, strong midrib, and the matrix·, which is clearly identical with the 

thin, longitudinal veins. others from Uinta County and wholly unlike 

I am uncertain as to its affinity. I have the Florissant material. This species has 

referred it with a question to Sedum on account not been identified in any of the recently 

of its fleshy character and resemblance to studied material from Florissant, and unless 

the living Sedum telephioides Michaux, but this the missing specimens ·can ultimately be 

resemblance may be only superficial. In any shown to have come from that locality it should 

event it may be easily recognized in future, and be dropped from the Florissant list. 

more and better material may serve to place Two of the figured types of Amygdalus 

it more certainly. gracilis (pl. 40, figs. 14, 15) are poorly preserved 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Cathe- fruits of which Lesquereux wrote as follows: 

dral Bluff, south of Little Tommies Draw, 20 "The fruits appear to belong to this genus and 

miles west of Rio Blanco post office, Rio possibly to this species. The reference is. of 

Blanco County, Colo., collected by D. E. Win- course hypothetical." Without access to the 

chester, 1917. original specimens it is impossible to say much 

Family DRU'PACEAE. 

Amygdalus gracilis Lesquereux. 

.Amygdalus gracilis Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 

199, pl. 40, figs. 12-15; pl. 44, fig. 6, 1883. 

Penhallow, Report on Tertiary plants of British 

Columbia, p. 37, 1908. 

about them, and to judge from the figures 

alone there seems very little warrant for referring them to Amygdq,lus and absolutely none 

for connecting them with these leaves . 

Occurrence: Green River formation. Uinta, 

County (formerly erroneously called Randolph 

County), Wyo. All reference to the occurrence in the Florissant lake beds is extremely 

Lesquereux characterized this species as doubtful. 

follows: 

Leaves ovate-lanceolate, . gradually narrowed to the 

a,cuminate point and in the sa.me degree to the petiole; 

serrulate; .lateral nerves at a more or less acute angle of 

divergence, much curved, camptodrome and reticulate 

a.long the borders. 

These fine leaves of solid membranaceous tissue average 

7 centimeters long and 2 centimeters broad, with a slender 

petiole about 2 centimeters long. They a.re more or less 

distinctly minutely serrate; the nerves, open at base and 

much curved toward the borders, are joined by undulate 

nervilles nea.rly at right ~gles. 

'rhere appears to be much confusion regarding this species. It is based on five figured 

specimens, one of which (the original of pl. 40, 

fig. 12, of the'-' Cretaceous and Tertiary floras") 

is said to be in the Museum of Princeton University; the others should -be in the United 

States National Museum, but only one can 

now be found. The original o{ figure 6 of 

Lesquereux's Plate XLIV is said to have come 

from Uinta County (formerly incorrectly called 

Randolph County), Wyo., but this specimen 

is missing. All the specimens shown on his 

Plate XL (figs. 12 to 15) are supposed to have 

come from Florissant, Colo., but the only 

Family PAPILIONACEAE. 

Dalbergia vlridiflumensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XL, figure 10. 

Leaflet $mall, very thick in texture, obovate, 

strongly emarginate at the apex, wedge-shaped 

at the base, length 15 millimeters, width 11 

millimeters; petiolule slender, 4 millimeters 

long; margin perfectly entire; midrib very 

s.trong, especially on the under side of the leaf, 

straight; .secondaries thin but distinct, seven 

or eight pairs, at an acute angle, camptodrome, 

probably uniting with each other, but this 

point is obscure. 

Unfortunately this specimen is the only one 

found in the collection, but it is so well marked 

that it can easily be recognized. 

The genus Dalbergia is a large one, comprising over 80 species, mainly of the Tropics 

of both Old and New worlds. Many of the 

species have similar leaves and hence are hard 

to separate on this character alone. Among 

the 25 or more tossil _species that have been 

described the. one perhaps approached most 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE" GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 165 

closely by the present form is Dalbergia 

eocenica Berry,66 from the Lagrange formation 

of Puryear, Tenn. D. viridijlumensis differs 

from that species, however, in being more 

regularly obovate and in being petiolulate 

instead of sessile. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Rio 

Blanco County, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo. (sec. 33, T. 4 S., R. 100 W.), 

collected by,D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Dalbergia retusa Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XL, figures 5, 6. 

Leaflet thick in texture, elliptical, strongly 

retuse at the apex, abruptly rounded and 

equilateral at the base; petiolule short, very 

strong; midrib very strong; secondaries thin, 

immersed in the leaf substance, at a low angle 

9f emergence, camptodrome, forming loops just 

inside the margin; fine nervation not discernible. 

Unfortunately this species is represented 

. only by a single leaflet with its counterpart, 

both of which have been figured, as there are 

certain features. that can not be seen from 

either impression. It is regularly elliptical or 

slightly broader above the middle, being about 

2.5 centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide. 

The very thick petiolule is 2 millimeters long. 

With the exception of the strong midrib the 

nervation is rather obscure but is thought to 

be as described above. 

This little leaflet seems referable to the genus 

Dalbergia on the ground of being strongly 

retuse at the apex and slightly broader above 

the middle and having the type of nervation 

usual in the genus. It is, for instance, very 

similar to Dalbergia eocenica Berry,67 from the 

Lagrange formation (in beds of Wiicox age) of 

western Tennessee, except as regards size. It 

also resembles certain leaflets from the Swiss 

Miocene described by Heer. 68 

Dalbergia retusa is also similar to Simaruba 

eocenica Berry 69 and Canavalia eocenica Berry, 70 

both from the Wilcox group. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Little 

Duck Creek, Rio Blanco County, about 50 

miles southwest of Meeker, Colo.; collected by 

D. E. Winchester, 1917. · 

66 Berry, E . W., U .S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 245, pl. 53, figs. 

1, 2, 1916. 

67Jdem. 

ss Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, v ol. 3, pl. 133, 1859. 

69 Op. cit., pl. 54, fig. 7. 

7o Op. cit., pl. 53, fig. 3. 

Leguminosites alternans Lesquereux. 

Leguminosites alternans Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 388, 1875 [1876]; 

idem, Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 315, 1876; U.S. Geol. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 202, 1883. 

Leaflet lanceolate, narrowed to the sessile base (point 

broken), apparently tapering and acute; secondary veins 

close, numerous, 15 pairs in a space of 2.5 centimeters, 

with indeterminate shorter tertiary veins anastomosing by 

crossing veinlets; areolation obsolete. 

This leaf is comparable to a Dalbergia or a Podogonium 

by its nervation; its form, especially the narrowed base, 

is comparable to Cassia. 

· The above description by Lesquereux is all 

that has been written concerning this species. 

The type or types are not known to be in 

existence, and as it was never figured its status 

must be considered more or less unsatisfactory. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, near 

mouth of White River (emptying into Green 

River), Wyo. 

I Sophora ;,.loradensis Knowlton, n. •P: 

Plate XXXVII, figures 14-16; Plate XL, figure 11. 

I 

Leaflets rather thin .in texture, ovate or 

ovate-elliptical, obtuse and rounded at the 

apex, abruptly rounded or . obtusely wedgeshaped at -the base; petiolule short, stout; 

!

midrib moderately strong, straight; secondaries few, mainly opposite, thin, at a low angle, 

camptodrome, forming broad loops, especially 

in the upper part. . 

I 

The smallest of the several leaflets referred . 

to this species (fig. 14) is about 2.25 centimeters long and 1.8 centimeters wide, and the 

largest (fig. 16) about 4 centimeters long and 

1

2 centimeters wide. In b9th these leaflets the 

base is obtusely wedge-shaped, but in another' 

example (fig. 16) the base is much more 

abruptly rounded-in fact, almost truncate. 

l

it is nearly 2.5 centimeters wide and was 

probably not far from 5 centimeters long. 

This species suggests some of the forms of 

Sophora w.ilcoxiana Berry, 71 from the Wilcox 

group, .but is more ovate or ovate-eUiptical 

and has more arched secondaries. 

Occurrence : Green River formation, Little 

Duck Creek, Rio Blanco County, about 50 

miles southwest of Meeker, and Camp Gulch, 

25 miles northwest of De Beque, Colo., collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

:. 71 Berry, E . W ., U . S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 241 , pl. 47, 

figs. 1-13, 1916. 
166 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENER.AL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Family MIMOSACEAE. 

Mimosites coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XL, figures 1-3. 

Leaves pinnate; leaflets opposite, sessile or 

nearly so, linear or linear-lanceolate, slightly 

unequal-sided, rather abruptly rounded at the 

base, acuminate or obtuse at the apex; margin 

perfectly entire; nervation, except for a 

strong midrib, mainly obsolete. 

This species is represented by one leaf that 

has the petiole preserved complete-2.5 centimeters long-with parts of two sessile leaflets, as well as by a considerable number of 

detached leaflets. The smallest is about 8 

millimeters long and the longest 28 millimeters 

long. The width is 2 or 3 millimeters. The 

leaflets are evidently thick, as hardly anything 

but the midrib is discernible. 

This species is very closely related to and 

perhaps identical with Mimosites linearifolius 

Lesquereux, 72 from the lake beds at Florissant, 

Colo., but appears to differ in being less fulcate and less sharply pointed.- In one of the 

leaflets there is a slight indication that the midrib is excurrent. 

This species is similar to certain of the 

smallest leaflets of Mimosites variabilis Berry/3 

from beds of Wilcox age in the Lagrange 

formation of western Tennessee and Kentucky, 

and from the Wilcox group of Mississippi, 

but these are more nearly elliptical with 

obtuse base and apex. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, spring 

. on Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colo., 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Order GERANIALES. 

Family SIMARUBACEAE. 

Ailanthus longe-petiolata Lesquereux. 

Ailanthus longe-petiolata Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 197, pl. 40, figs. 6, 7, 1883. 

Both figured types of this species are preserved in the United States National Museum, 

the leaflet being No. 1586 and the fruit No. 

1587. No additional examples of either leaves 

or fruit have been collected, and it may stand 

as left by Lesquereux. 

12 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 300, pl. 59, fig. 7, 1878; idem, vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary 

floras), p. 203, pl. 37, figs. 10-13, 1883. 

1a Berry,E. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 227, pl. 45, figs. 

6-11, 1916. 

Oceurrence: Green River formation, Uinta 

County (formerly wrongly called · .Randolph 

County), Wyo. 

Order SAPINDALES. 

Family SAPINDACEAE. 

Sapindus dentoni Lesquereux. 

Sapindus dentoni Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 388, 1875 [1876]; 

idem, Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 315, 1876; U. S. Geol. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 265, 

pl. 44, figs. 2-4, 1878. 

Described by Lesquereux as follows: 

Leaflets with entii·e or slightly undulate borders, lanceolate [6or7 centimeters long, 1.1 to 1.7 centimeters wide], 

gradually tapering to a long acumen, rounded to the 

[slightly unequal-sided] base and narrowed to a ·short 

petiole [1 centimeter long]; lateral nerves close, ·parallel, 

nearly straight to the borders, where they abruptly curve. 

Unfortunately the type specimens of this 

species are now lost; at least, they do not appear 

to be in the United States National Museum, 

and their location is not known. Lesquereux 

compares these "leaflets" with those of Sapindus angustifolius Lesquereux, from the Florissant lake beds, but there are sufficient differences to separate them. They can also be compared with leaves of Eucalyptus? america nus 

Lesquereux, as figured in the "Tertiary flora," 

Plate LIX, figures 11 and 12, but as we have 

oniy the drawings to go by it is perhaps best to 

leave them under Sapindus. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, near the 

mouth of White River, Utah, collected by William Denton, for whom the species is named . 

Sapindus obtusifolius Lesquereux. 

Sapindus obtusifolius Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1873, p. 419, 1874; 

U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 266, pl. ·49, figs. 8-11, 1878; idem, vol. 8 

(Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), pp. 181, 235, pl. 48, 

figs. 5-7, 1885. 

The type locality of Sapinus obtusifolius is 

about 8 miles southeast of Green River, Wyo., 

where it was found in association with Musophyllum complicatum Lesquereux and a fragment of a leaf of Carpinus grandis. The four 

figured types are all preserved in the United 

States National Museum (Nos. 392-395). 

Subsequently Lesquereux 74 stated that he 

found a single specimen with the leaflets attached in material from the lake beds at Floris74 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous 

and Tertiary floras), p. 181, 1883. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA DF THE GRE.EN RIVER FORMAT'! ON. 167 

sant, Colo. , I have not seen this specimen, but 

Lesquereillt says it is even smaller than that 

of figure 8 of the "Tertiary flora." 

In the ''Cretaceous and Tertiary floras'' Lesq~ereux 75 also reported this species from the 

Fort Union formation of North Dakota. The 

present location of the specimens so designated 

is not known, but they were very well ~gured, 

and from the figures it appears that, al hough 

they resemble the originals of S. obtusifolia, they 

are probably a different species. The largest 

leaflet is 11.5 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide, and it seems questionable te place 

them with leaflets only 1 to 1.5 centimeters 

long. It will require a considerable sJries of 

connecting forms-to show the relationship .. 

Th~ recent collections from western Cblorado 

-contain . a number of leaflets that are t9 be referred to Sapindus obtusifolius, hut as tliey add 

nothing t(). our knowledge of the speci s they 

have not been figured. I 

Occurrence: Green River formation, 8 miles 

southeast of Green River, Wyo., colledte.d by 

Leo Lesquereux, 1873; ·spring on Littl ~ Duck 

Creek, about 50 miles southwest of Mee~er, Ri6 

.Blanco County, Colo., collected by D. E. Win-

·chester, 1917. 

Sapindus· wi.nchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVIII, figure 1. 

Leaflet very large; 14.5 centimeters 1 1ng and 

:3.5 centimeters wide, lanceolate, str.ongly 

unequal-sided, broadest at about one- hird of 

the length above the base, whence it rtarrows 

gradually to the rather obtuse apex and downward to the wedge-shaped base; ne~vation 

strong, especially the midrib, with a 1out 16 

pairs of alternate, irregularly spaced camptodrome secondaries, which arise at low angles, 

-curve upward slightly, and arch just inside the 

margin, each joining the one next above!; there 

are a few intermediate secondaries and J strong 

-secondary nervation. I 

This splendid species is represented by the 

·nearly perfect leaflet figured and a nurpber of 

-smaller fragments. It is one of the largest, 

-if not indeed the largest species t'us far 

. ·described in this country. It solfewhat 

Tesembles Sapindus aifinis. N ewberr:r,?6 an 

-extremely abundant form in the Fort !Union, 

but it is more than twice the size of the ordinary 

75 U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept. vol. 8, p. 235, pl. 48, fig . 5-7, 1883. 

16 Newberry;J. S., U.S. Geol. SurveyMon.35,p.116, pl. 30, fig.1, 1898. 

leaflets of that species and is much more 

obtuse at th' apex and has a much stronger 

nervation. J: f is ~ore like certain leaflets from 

the Fort Union of tile Yellowstone Park identified as Sapitzus aifinis, 77 though it is much 

larger and h:as a stronger nervation. - -

' The only species of Sapindus heretofore noted 

in the Greeri -River for~ation is S. dentoni 

Lesquereux;78 but this is a small-leaved form 

wholly unli~e the· present one·. 

Occurrenae: Green River formation, oil 

shale, Smith ranch, on Greasewood Creek, 

about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Rio 

Blanco County, Colo., collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Family ANACARDIACEAE. 

Rhus lesquereuxii Knowlton and Cockerell. 

Rhus lesquereuxii Knowlton and Cockerell, U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 696, p. 552, 1919. 

Rhus acuminata Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and Geog, Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 8, 1872;' U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and 

Tertiary ,floras), ~- 194, pl. 42, figs. 14-17, 1883. 

[Homonym, De Candolle, 1865.] 

The type locality for Rhus acuminata Lesquereux is. Green River, Wyo., above the socalled fish beds, but the type specimen is not 

known to be in the collection of the United 

States Natio1nal Museum and is presumably 

lost. It has not subsequently been found in 

the Green ~iver formation, the figured specimens being from the lake beds at Florissant, 

Colo. (U. S,. Nat. Mus. Nos. 1871-1874) .. Its 

status as a G-reen River snecies is therefore open 

to question. 1 

· . 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green , 

River, Wyo., above the fish beds. 

Rhus variabilis (Newberry) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Planera variabilis Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 5, 

p. 508, 1883; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 83, pl. 

66, fig. 7 [not figs. 5 and 6, which=Planera inaequilateralis (Lesquereux) Knowlton], 1898. 

Leaf firm in texture, lanceolate, about 6 

centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide, acute 

at the apex, · evenly wedge-shaped (at about 

45° angle) at the base; margin coarsely and 

somewhat irregular~y toothed; petiole stout, 

at least 1 centimeter long; midrib strong; 

secondaries numerous, irregularly spaced, parallel, at a low angle, ending in the margin. 

11 Knowlton, F. H., U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 32, pt. 2, pl. 102, figs, 

1-3, 1899. . ' 

78 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 265, pl. 64, figs. 2-4, 1883. 
168 SHORTER CONTRI~UTTONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

This species is based · on one of the figured 

types of Newberry's Planera variabuis. At the 

time it was made a type Newberry apparently 

had some misgiving, for he said: · 

Possibly future collections will prove that the narrower, 

more rigid form with the deeply cut and acute serrations 

and parallel, nearly straight lateral veins, shown in figure 

7, belongs to a different sp'ecies; but in the very large number of Planera leaves before me it is impossible to make 

any division without making several. They are therefore 

all grouped together for the present. 

He further adds that he had at his dispos~;tl a 

large number of specimens that seem to connect the two forms, but as these are not available it appears best to consider them as distinct. 

It may also be .pointed out that the leaf under discussion seems to be congeneric with 

Myrica (now Rhus) nigricans Lesquereux 79 and 

for this reason has been transferred to the genus 

Rhus. It is more nearly lanceolate and has 

rather coarser marginal teeth, but otherwise 

does not greatly differ. It is not contained in 

any of the more recent collections. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. (one of the types of Planera variabilis), collected by C. A. White. 

Rhus nigricans (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Myrica nigricans Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 6, 1872 ;' 

U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

:flora), p. 132, pl. 17, figs, 9-12, 1878. 

Myrica nigricans was described as foll<?ws by 

Lesquereux: · 

Leaves nearly sessile, alte:rnate, oblong or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, round-cuneate to the base, obtusely 

dentate ; nervation camptodrome. 

He supplemented this description with the 

following remarks: 

The leaves of this species are like those of the former 

[Myrica undulata? Heer], only narrower, all narrowly 

lahceolate or linear-lanceolate; narrowed to a long acumen, 

and about sessile or with a very short petiole about 1 millimeter long. They are more or less unequal at the base, 

distantly obtusely dentate in the middle. 

Three of the figured types of this species. are 

preserved in the United States National Museum (figs. 9-11, Nos. 401a,150, 151) and are 

seen to be fragmentary. The specimen shown 

in figure 9 is evidently the one on which is based 

the statement that the leaves are simple and 

79 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 132, pl. 17, figs. 9-12, 1878. 

alternate, but a close view of the original disclosed that there was a piece of the matrix 

covering the point of attachment of one leaf, 

and when this was removed they were found t0' 

be practically opposite. They are slightly unequal-sided and in my opinion are leaflets of 

a pinnately compound leaf. This conclusion_ 

of necessity removes the form from Myrica, 

which has simple leaves, and it seems to justify 

their reference to Rhus. The other types are 

also slightly unequal-sided and are probably 

conspecific. The margin is undulate-toothed 

in these three-figured specimens, _ but another 

figure (fig. lOa) shows the margin with sharpteeth. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., northwest of station and above. 

the fish beds, collected by· F. V. Hayden, 1868 .. 

Rhus myricoides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVII, figures 9-1L 

Leaflets of firm texture, narrowly lanceolate,. 

prolonged above into a slender acuminate tip,. 

abruptly narrowed and unequal-sided at the 

base; margin entire for a short distance at the 

base, thence strongly toothed, the teeth del--

toid, pointing upward; petiolule short, stout; 

midrib relatively strong, especially below; sec--

ondaries and intermediate secondaries numer--

ous, mainly alternate, thin, emerging at a low 

angle, slightly curved upward, craspedodrome, 

the stronger ones entering the teeth, the others. 

at intermediate points; finer nervation obscure. 

This species is represented by a number-of 

very well preserved leaflets, three of the most. 

nearly perfect of which have been figured. The, 

length was apparently from about 5.5 to 6.5· 

centimeters and the width approximately 1 

centimeter. The petiolule is very short, hardly· 

exceeding 2 milimeters. 

This species is undoubtedly most closely re--

lated to Rhus nigricans (Myrica nigricans 

Lesquereux80)-in fact, they may be identical.. 

Rhus myricoides appears to differ in being more· 

strongly toothed and to a minor degree in the. 

nervation. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Smith 

ranch, on Greasewood Creek, abo.ut 40 miles . . 

southwest of Meeker, .Rio Blanco County, Colo.,. 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. . 

so Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiar}'l 

flora), p. 132, p~. 17, fi~s. 9-12, 1878. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 169 

Family CELASTRACEAE. 

Euonymus flexifolius' Lesquereux. 

Euonymusjlexifolius Lesquereux, U.S. GeoJ. Survey Terr. 

Rept. , vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 183, 

pl. 38, fig. 13, 1883. 

This splendid species is described as follows 

by Lesquereux: 

Leaves large [16.5 centimeters long, 5 centimeters wide], 

-ovate-acuminate from an· oval base, flexures at the apex, 

narrowed from the middle to the petiole, sharply deeply 

-serrate; secondary nerves alternate, equidistant and par-

:allel, camptodrome. 

The single type specimen is the only one thus 

far obt~ined. It is No. 1585 of. the United 

States National Museum collection. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Ui-q.ta 

County (formerly incorrectly called Randolph 

~ounty), Wyo. 

Family · ACERACEAE. 

Acer Iesquereuxii Knowlton. 

Acer lesquereuxii Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Btill. 152, 

p. 26, 1898. 

Acer indivisum Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 

180, pl. 36; figs. 6, 9, 1883. [Homonym, Weber, 1852.] 

Lesquereux's original description reads as 

follows: 

Leaves small, of thin texture, round-truncate in outline, 

five-nerved and five-lobed; lobes entire, sharply acuminate; sinuses broad, entire or dentate in the middle; 

petiole comparatively long, inflated under the point of 

attachment. 

The leaves are 5.5 centimeters broad between the points 

-of the upper lobes and only 4 centimeters long from the 

top of the petiole, which is 5.5 centimeters long. 

'Tl;le type of the leaf on which this species is 

based is preserved in the United States National 

Museum (No. 1582), but the fruits also made 

cotypes are not to be found here. This species 

has not been found in subsequent collections. 

Occurence: Green River formation, Uinta 

County (formerly wrongly called Randolph 

County), Wyo., collected by F. V. Hayden. 

Family ILICACEAE. 

Dex? aflinis Lesquereux. 

Ilexf affinis Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 8, 1872; U. S . . 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 

270, pl. 50, figs. 2, 3, 1878. 

This species is based on two examples, both 

of which were figured by Lesquereux, and both 

are in the United States National Museum collection (Nos. 400, 401). They are fragmentary, 

as he states, both having lost the upper portion. Lesquereux says: 

These leaves, inequilateral at base, seem like pinnules 

of a compound leaf. The midrib is thick, the secondary 

veins numerous, parallel, inequidistant, and, at an open 

angle of divergence, either enter the point of the teeth 

and, by their branches, follow the borders in festoons or 

are truly camptodrome, with nervilles passing up from 

the back of the curves into the teeth. 

Lesquereux questioned the generic reference 

of these leaves, and it is more than probable 

that they should be placed elsewhere, but they 

are so fragmentary that affinities are interpreted with difficulty, and it may be best to 

leave them for the present in !lex. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., above the fish beds. 

Dex maculata Lesquereux. 

Ilex maculata Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., 

vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 186, pl. 

44, fig. 5, 1883. 

The single type specimen (No. · 1603, U. S. 

Nat. Mus.) is the only one recorded of this 

species. It is poorly preserved and the generic 

reference is open to more or less question. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Alkali 

stage station, about 30 miles north of Green 

River, Wyo. . 

Dex vyomingiana Lesquereux. 

Ilex vyomingiana I;esquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 270, pl. 50, :fig. 

1, 1878. 

The type of this species (No. 399, U. S. Nat. 

Mus.) is so fragmentary and obscure that it is 

difficult to interpret. Its reference to !lex may 

well be questioned, but as no other relationship can reasonably be suggested it is left as 

placed by Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., above the fish beds. 

Order RHAMNALES. 

Family RHAMNACEAE. 

Zizyphus Iongifolia Newberry. 

Plate XL, figure 7. 

Zizyphus longifolia Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 

5, p. 513, 1882 [1883]; U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. '35, 

p. 119, [pl. 65, figs. . 4 [not fig. 5, which= 

Zizyphus cinnarrwmoides Lesquer(mx], 1898. 

Leaves evidently very firm in texture, 7.5 to 

9.5 centimeters long, about 1.5 centimeters 
170 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

wide, lanceolate, rather abruptly rounded to above into a slender point; . ·margin more or 

the obtusely wedge-shaped base, long pointed less crenate from a point well above the base 

at apex; margins waved or more or less dis- of the blade; triple-nerved from the top of the 

tinctly toothed; petiole slender, at least 2 petiole, the midrib straight, with four or five 

centimeters long; midrib well defined from pairs of thin secondaries in the upper part; 

base to· summit; lateral nerves or ribs arising lateral nerves or ribs closer to the margin than 

with the petiole ~nd nearly as strong, passing the midrib, joining the lowest pair of secondup close to the margin for nearly one-half the aries; finer nervation irregularly recticulate. 

length of the blade, then ioining the lowest Lesquereux based this species on two leaves 

pair of secondaries on the midrib; secondaries from Green River shale, both of which lack the 

three or four pairs, alternate, curving upward, upper portion. Later Newberry received 

forming a festoon near .the margin; nervilles material from the same locality and from it 

finely reticulated. he characterized his Zizyphus longifolia. Of 

Newberry figured three specimens as the the three types figured by Newberry two are 

types of this species, and all are preserved in alike and are long, narrow, three-nerved leaves,. 

the United States National Museum (Nos. but the other is clearly identical with Les7020, 7021, 7022). Of these, two (figs. 3 and 4 quereux's Zizyphus cinnamomoides and has 

of his plate) agree with the above description . been transferred to it. · 

and are here taken as typical of Zizyphuslongi- Ward 82 identified a single small leaf from the 

folia. The other specimen is obviously differ- Fort Union formation near Glendive, Mont.,.· 

en t-in fact, it agrees with Zizyphus cinna!. · with Lesquereux's Zizyphus cinnamomoides, 

momoides -Lesquereux, 81 as Newberry himself_ but it has a very different nervation and mrst 

pointed out, and it is transferred to that be excluded. 

species. Newberry states that Zizyphus longi- Occurrence: Green ,River formation, Gree,n 

folia is very abundant in the cGllections sub- River,. Wyo. 

mitted to him and is usually associated in the 

beds with Lygodium and Acrostichum. 

'In the collections from western Colorado I 

find several leaves of this species, one of which 

I have figured. It is a narrow leaf about 8 

centimeters long and 1.6 centimeters wide. 

Its margin is provided with remote, low, 

rounded teeth. The nervation is that .described and figured for the species. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, · Green 

River, Wyo.; oil shale at Smith ranch, on 

Greasewood Creek, about 40 r1iles southwest 

of Meeker, Colo., coUected by D. E. Winchester, 

1917. 

Zizyphus cinnamomoides (Lesquereux) Lesquereux. 

Zizyphus cinnamomoides (Lesquereux) Lesquereux, U. S. 

Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), 

p. 277, pl. 52, :figs. 7, 8, 1878. 

Zizyphus longijolia Newberry, U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 

35, pl. 65, :fig. 5 [not :figs. 3, 4], 1898. 

Ceanothus cinnamomoides Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p. 289, 1872. 

Leaves of firm texture, 5 to 9 centimeters 

long, 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide, oblong or 

ovate-lanceolate, broadest at or a little below 

the middle, wedge-shaped below, pr<?longed 

Family VITACEAE. 

. Cissus parrottiaefolia Lesquereux. . . 

Cissus parrottiaejolia Lesq~ereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog;. 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 388, 1875 [1876];. 

· idem, Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 314, 1876; U. s. 

Geol. Survey Terr. RepL, vol. 7 (Tertiary flora); 

p. 239, pl. 40, :figs. 15-17; pl. 42, :fig. 1, 1878. 

The three types of this species supposed .to 

·oe from Green River, Wyo., are in the United 

States National Museum (Nos. 343, 344, 345)~ 

The matrix is rather sQft yellowish sandstone, 

quite unlike anything from the Green River 

beds with which I am famiiiar, and there is 

doubt · as to the pr~priety of continuing this as 

a Green River species. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo., west of station. 

Parthenocissus tertiaria (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb .. 

Ampelopsis tertiaria Lesquereux, U. S. G~l. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 7, 

1872; U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 

(Tertiary flora), p. 242, pl. 43, :fig. 1, 1878. 

The type and only specimen of this species 

found is preserved in the United States 

National Museum (No. 361) and has been 

81 Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 82 Ward, L. F., U. S. Geol. Survey Sixth Ann. Rept., for 1884-85~ 

flora), p. 277, pl. 52, figs. 7, 8, 1878. . p. 554, pl. 52, fig. 3, 1886; idem, Bull. 37, P'· 74, pl. 33, fig. 7, 1887. 
R.EVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 171 

fairly well characterized by Lesquere~x. The meters long and 1.5 centimeters wide. The 

two leaflets on the left-hand side are repre- other was a larger leaf, fully 2 centimeters 

sented as broken, but really they pass under wid~, but lacks the upper portion. The nerone of the type specimens of Juglans schimperi vation is that above described. 

and can not be excavated without' destroying In 1883 Lesquereux83 described some rather 

the Juglans. fragmentary leaves from Alkali station under 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green the name Apocynophyllum scudderi. These 

River, Wyo., above the fish beds. sp·ecimens are in the United States National 

Museum (Nos. 1605-1609) and are before me. Order MYRTALES. 

Although they are somewhat smaller than the 

Family MYRTACEAE 1 types of Eucalyptus? americanus, they clearly 

Eucalyptus? antericanus Lesquereux. belong with them. They have the same 

Plate XXXIX, figures 1-3. coriaceous texture, very thick midrib, thin, 

Eucalyptus? americana Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey immersed lateral veins, and continuous intraTerr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 296, pl. 59, marginal vein. They seem properly to be 

figs.ll, 12, 1878. referable to Eucalyptus? americanus. 

Eucalyptus americanus Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. and ~eog. The leaf figured by Newberry 84 as Salix 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 7, 1872. 

Apocynophyllum scudderi Lesquereux, u. s. Geol. Survey angusta Al. Braun? is also preserved in the 

Terr. Rept., vol. 8, (Cretaceous and Tertiary United States National Museum (No. '7023) 

floras), p. 172, pl. 45, A, figs. 1-5, 1883. and clearly belongs toEucalyptus?. americanus. 

Salix angusta AI. Braun? Newberry , U.S. Geol. Surver It comes from Green River and is said by NewMon. 35, P· M, pl. 65,·fig. 2' 1898· berry to be exceedingly common, '(some slabs 

Leaves coriaceous in texture, narrowly Ian- of the rock being quite covered with the 

ceolate, gradually tapering upward from below · leaves." Newberry does not mention the 

the middle into a long, narrow acumen and nar- strongly marked intramarginal vein, though it 

rowed. in nearly . the· same degree to the · base, is shown in his figure and, of course, in the 

slightly unequal-sided and very slightly undu- spemmen. 

late; petiole very thick, about 1 centimeter The propriety of referring these leaves to the 

long; midrib extremely thick, especially below, genus ·Eucalyptus may ·perhaps be open to 

where it merges into the petiole; lateral nerves question, as it is doubted by some that this 

thin, immersed in the substance of the leaf, genus ever reached America. Be that as it 

emerging at angles of 30° to 45°, about 5 milli- may, their facies-long, narrow, coriaceous 

meters apart, irregular, many of . them with leaves with exceedingly thick midrib and 

intermediate nerves that join others at various deeply immersed veins running into a strong 

distances below the margin; the main nerves intramarginal vein-is distinctly that of Eucaall terminate in a strong, continuous intra- lyptus, and I have retained them as left by 

marginal vein which is about 1 millimeter from Lesquereux. There are some other things that 

the margin; finer nervation consisting of very are to . be considered in this connection. Thus 

. thin, irregular veins oblique to the principal Lesquereux in the . original discussion of his 

veins. EucalyptUs? americanus compares . them to 

These . are splendid leaves, clearly coriaceous . species of Tr:icera from . Cuba. This is a 

or leathery in texture. There is considerable euphorbiaceous genus with narrow leaves 

range in size, the larger ones being nearly 13 having a nervation similar to that of. Eucacentimeters long and ahout 2 centimeters wide lyptus. I have not seen these leaves and so 

and the smaller ones 6 or 8 centimeters long can not say anything as to their probable 

and 1.5 centimeters wide. The petiole, which affinity with the Green River leaves under 

is enlarged at the point of attachment, does not consideration. 

exceed 1 centimeter in length. Berry 85 has described as Ficus myrtifoliusThe types of Eucalyptus? americana as figured some narrow leaves from the Wilcox group 

by Lesquereux in the "Tertiary flora" (pl. 59, 

figs. 11, 12) 'are preserved in the United States 

National Museum (Nos. 489, 489a). The best 

preserved leaf is a nearly perfect one 12 centi83 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous 

and Tertiary floras), p . 172, pl. 45, A, figs. 1-5, 1883. 

84 Newberry, J. S., U . S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 54, pl. 65, fig. 2, 1898. 

ss Berry, E. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 205, pl. 30, 

figs. 1-3, 1916. 
172 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

that he says are nearest to Lesquereux's 

Apocynophyllum scudderi. The Wilcox leaves 

are of about the same · size and shape as 

Lesquereux's species and have the thick 

midrib and well-marked intramarginal vein, 

but the lateral veins are almost at right angles 

and are more numerous than in the Green River 

leaves. 

Occurrence: Green River formation Green . ' River, Wyo., above the fish beds, types collected about 1870 by F. V. Hayden, others 

collected by C. A. White and still later by L. 

F. Ward; Alkali stage station, about 30 miles 

north of Green River, type locality for Apocynophyllum scudderi, collected by F. V. Hayden; Cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies 

Draw, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post 

office, Rio Blanco County, Colo., in sec. 35, 

T. 4 S., R. 100 W., Colo., and above oil shale, 

head of trail up ridge between Carr and Bushy 

creeks, Garfield County, Colo., collected by 

D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Order UMBELLALES. 

Family ARICACEAE. 

Aralia wyomingensis Knowlton and Cockerell. 

Plate XXXIX, figure 4; Plate XL, figlire 12. 

Aralia wyomingensis Knowlton and Cockerell, U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 696, p. 88, 1919. . 

Aralia macrophylla Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 

5, p. 513, 1882 [1883]; U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, 

p. 121, pl. 67, fig. 1; pl. 68, fig.1, 1898. [Homonym, 

Lindley, 1844.] 

This species was described by Newberry as 

fulliws: . 

Leaves large, long-petioled, palmately five-parted from 

the middle upward, divisions conkal in outline, sometimes 

entire, often remotely, occasionally coarsely toothed; 

nervation strong and regular; the midrib of the divisions 

strong and straight, those from the second later~l lobes 

springing from near the bases of the first lateral lobes· 

secondary nerves numerous, distinct, curved gentl; 

upward; where the margins are entire, partially camptodrome; where dentate, terminating in the teeth; tertiary 

nerves anastomosing to form quadrangular and very 

numerous areoles. 

In speaking of the occurrence of these leaves . ' Newberry says: • · 

In the localiti~s where they are found the leaves of 

A. macrophylla [A. wyomingensis] are exceedingly abundant, sometimes matted together so as to obscure their 

outlines. These show that they vary in size, in the number 

of lobes, and in the character of the margins, occasionally 

one occurring which is only three-lobed, while almost all 

are. fi;e, and the margins are sometimes nearly entire, 

while m other leaves they are all strongly, even spinously, 

dentate. . The leaves vary from 3 to 12 inches in length, 

and the lobes are sometimes long and narrow, in others 

much broader. 

The two figured types of this species, both 

preserved in the United States National Museum, are large leaves, hence the name macrophylla was very appropriate, but in Newberry's: 

discussion of the species he states that they· 

range in length from 3 to 12 inches. 

In the collections recently made in western 

Colorado there are a number of leaves that 

must be referred to Aralia wyomingensis. 

Two of these have been figured. One (Pl. 

XL, fig. 12) is a very small leaf only 6 

centimeters long and a little over 7 centimeters 

wide, with slender petiole 2 centimeters long. 

The other (Pl. XXXIX, fig. 4) is somewhat , 

larger, probably 12 or 14 centimeters long and 

some 12 centimeters broad .. 

The leaf from Bridger Pass, Wyo., described 

by Lesquereux 86 under the name Aralia? 

gracilis, may belong here, but it is so fragmentary that it can not be compared fully with 

Aralia wyomingensis. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. (types), collected by C. A. White; 

Cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies 

Draw, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post 

office, Rio Blanco County, Colo.; collected by 

D. E. Winchester, 1917. 

Order ERICALES. 

Family ERICACEAE. 

Andromeda delicatula Lesquereu:l:. 

Andromeda delicatula Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 175, pl. 34, figs. 10, 11, 1883. 

The two type specimens on which this fine 

species is based are preserved in the United 

States National Museum (Nos . . 1580, 1581) · 

and have been v.ery well described and figured 

by Lesquereux. The species has not been 

since collected in the Green Riv.er formation, 

but has been reported from the supposed 

upper Eocene of British Columbia and the 

Fort Union formation of the Bull Mountains, 

Mont.; the latter is perhaps doubtful. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Uinta 

County (formerly wrongly called Randolph 

County), Wyo.; Eocene, Tranquille River, 

British Columbia; Fort Union formation, 

Bull Mountains, Mont. 

86 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary 

flora), p. 236, pl. 39, fig. 1, 1878. 
REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER F.ORMATION. 173 

Order RUBIALES. 

Family CAPRIFOLIACEAE. , 

Sambucus? winchesteri Knowlton, n. sp. 

Elate XL, figures 8, 9. 

This flower is very small, having a spread of 

only about 4 ~illimeters. In the exact center 

is a circular mass of black carbonaceous substance that is without any observable structure. 

The flower is perfectly regular, with five 

oblong obtuse petals, alternating with which 

are the five stamens. At first sight it appears 

that the petals are free, but as the actual insertion of both petals and stamens is obscured by 

the central carbonaceous mass, it is possible 

that the corolla is slightly gamopetalous-in 

fact, if the identification given is correct the 

petals must be slightly united. The petals 

are about 1. 7 millimeters long and 0.8 millimeter broad, and each has three relatively 

strong veins which run from the base nearly 

to the apex. The stamens are slightly inore 

than half the length of the petals and· have 

large anthers. 

A great many flowers have been studied in 

comparison with this fossil flower, and all things 

considered it seems to approach Sambucus 

most closely. This genus has the calyx tube 

ovoid or turbinate, adnate to the ovary, with 

its limb three to five toothed, and the corolla 

rotate or slightly campanulate, regular, and 

usually five-lobed; the five stamens are inserted on the base of the corolla. 

The fossil flower under· consideration seems 

.to agree fairly well with the above diagnosis, 

at least so far as can be made out, but as there 

are -some points that· can not be settled with 

·certainty, the generic reference has been questioned. This flower is named in honor of the 

collector. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, oil 

shale, Rio Blanco County, about 40 miles 

southwest of Meeker, Colo.; collected by D. E. 

Winchester. 

Order CAMPANULALES. 

Family COMPOSITAE. 

Achaenites cichorioides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XL, figure 4. 

Achene narrowly obconical, about 7 millimeters long, 2 millimeters in diameter at the 

top, strongly ribbed (apparently four-ribbed) 

with several (at least three) thinner intermediate striae; pappus simple, apparently sparse, 

~ not barbed, about 7 millimeters long. 

91048~--23----12 

This little achene, the only one·found in the 

collection, is ·surprisingly · well preserved conside~ing the delicate nature of some ·of · its 

parts. ' The achene itself was evidently:· hard 

and resistant and apparently has suffered 

little distortion. It is strongly ribbed or 

ridged, especially in the lower part, and from 

the· disposition of these ridges it seems probable 

that they were four in number, but this is of 

course somewhat uncertain . . The pappus is 

certainly simple and without· obvious barbs; 

it was at least as long as the' achene. I~. 

appears to occupy a single ring around the 

outer edge of the flat-topped achene. 

It is perhaps hazardous to attempt a close 

comparison of this fossil achene with those of 

any living species, though it may be pointed 

out that it seems to fall within the family 

Cichoriaceae, whence the specific name adopted 

for it. It is,' 'for instance, suggestive of the 

achenes in certain species of Naba'zus, Hieracium, etc., but more evidence will be needed 

before it .can be placed in any living genus. 

It is believed to be the first composite achene 

from this country to be described. 

A word may be said as to the selection of the 

generic name for this achene. Thege~usAchaenites was established by Braun87 in 1851, with 

A. ungeri as the type species. I twas not figured 

at that· time, but in the Neues Jahrbuch for 

1854 Braun described and figured it. It is an 

oblong, long-beaked achene with a plumose 

pappusf. and came from the Swiss Miocene. 

. In 1859, when Heer 88 came to the consideration of the numerous fruits of the Compositae 

found in the Miocene of Switzerland, he 

established the genus Oypselites, with which he 

merged Braun's Achaenites, notwithstanding 

the fact that the latter had some eight years 

priority. Heer described 'and figured no less 

than 19 species under his Gyps elites, which he 

stated probably really belong to a number of different genera. None of them seem to be very 

close to the Green River species under discussion. 

The law of priority does not sanction the 

substitution of o;ne genus for anoth~r without 

reason, and therefore Achaenites will have to be 

restored for Heer's species of Oypselites. 

Moreover, Achaenites is more appropriate than 

Oypselites for these obvious acheries. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, above 

rich oil shale, Camp Gulch, about 25 miles 

northwest of De Beque, Colo., collected by 

D. ·E. Winchester, 1917. 

87 Braun, AI., in Stizenberger, Ernst, Uebersicht der Versteinerungen des Grossherzogthums Baden, p. 83, 1851 .,• 

88 Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiari~ Helvetiae, vof. 3, p . 2, 1859. 

. I 
174 .. , SHO.RTim CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENER·AL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

PLANTS OF UNCERTAIN POSITION. The original description by Lesquereux reads 

Antholithes iml,)robus Lesquereux. as follows: 

Antholit~es improbus Lesquereux, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Seeds or nutlets cordate, obtuse, 5 to 7 :mlllimeters long, 

. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 204, 3 or 4 millimeters broad, convex,. gro<;>Ved in the middle 

pl. 40, figs. 20, 21, 1883. from the point to the base, surrounded . by a memBoth the figured types of this peculiar organ- branaceous pellicle, the remains of an apparently fleshy 

ism are prese_rved in the United States National outer envelope. · . They resemble seeds of a similar kind which I have 

Museum (No. 1666). I am not able to inter- found in great quantity at Golden [Colo.] and referred to 

pret them any more satisfactorily than Les- the genus Viburnum. ·. 

quereux did. A complication has arisen concerning the 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Uinta locality from which thi~ species cam~. At the 

County (formerly wrongly called Randolph time it was named and described it was disCounty), Wyo. tinctly stated by Lesquereux to have come from 

Carpolithus caryophylloides· Knowlton, n. sp. Alkali stage station, 30 miles north of Green 

Plate XXXVII, figure 13. River, Wyo., but three years later, when it was 

The collections from western Colorado made described and figured in the ''Tertiary flora,'' 

by Winchester include the lit~le specimen here the locality was given as Black Buttes, Wyo. 

figured. It is apparently a dry capsule, ovoid The type specimen is fortunately preserved in 

in shape, about 5 millimeters long and. 4 milli- the United States National Museum (No. 494), 

meters in diameter at the base, and with a and it is there recorded in Lesquereux's handslender pedicel 2 millimeters long. It appears writing as coming from Black Buttes. !~ere 

to be made on the plan of five, and is split is reason to believe, however, that the original 

down about half its length, each seg:q1ent being assignment is correct, and that it really came 

apparently bifid at the apex and with a strong from Alkali station and hence from the Green 

central rib or ridge. River formation, and not from Black Buttes. 

This specimen is so small and indifferently The matrix is a fine-grained yellowis~ sand-

-preserved that it is difficult of interpretation. stone, similar in character to that of other specFrom the fact that it is not much crushed or imens from Alkali station, and, moreover, the 

.distorted the inference isdrawn that it was a . temporary label affixed . to the specimen by 

dry capsule that had discharged its seeds when Lesquereux is an oval, blue-borde!ed "sticker" 

entombed. It may be split down for more than identical with those used on other specimens 

·half its length, but it does not seem to be.· from Alkali station~· wherea~ those on the speciIt is of course more or less hazardous to mens from Black Buttes are of a different shape 

attempt to refer this capsule to a living genus and bordered with red. No sp~cimens from 

or even family, and conse.quently it has been Black Buttes were ·described by Lesquereux in 

placed in the form genus and convenient catch- the report in which the speci.Iriens from Alkali 

all Carpolithus, . until it can be more definitely station were described, and, further, it seems 

assigned. However, · i.t. . may be pointed out inherently improbable that a · mixtu~e wo~ld 

that this specimen undoubtedly has a strong occur when a ·collection from a given locahty 

albeit superficial likeness to the capsule of was first considered. It is believed that this 

certain Caryophyllaceae, as, for example, the species actually came from Alkali station, and 

genus Lychnis. The several species of Lychnis it will be so regarded hereafter. · 

have a globular or ovoid one-celled capsule that Occurrence: Green River formation, Alkali 

opens by the splitting ap~rt of the ten or five stage station, 30 miles north of. Green River, 

segments, which are often two~cleft at the apex. Wyo. [incorrectly accredited to Black Buttes, 

The capsule of Lychnis dioicaLinne is especially Wyo.]. 

suggested by this Green River capsule. Carpites newberryana JU,towlton, n. sp. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Smith 

JuglansoccidentalisNewberry, U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, ranch, on Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles p. 34, pl. 66, figs. 4a -4c, 1898 [not figs.1-4]. 

southwest of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colo,. 

ll t db D. E w··· h t 1917 This species was characterized by _Newberry co ec e y · . , . 1nc es er, . · as follows: 

Carpites vib.urni Le~quereux. . -: 

Carpites viburni Lesquereux, U. S. Geol.. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. '382, 1875 [1876]; U. S. Geol.-

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 7 (Tertiary flora), p. 305, 

pl. 60, figs. 26, 26a, 1878. · 

, Fruit small, elongated, somewha ~prismatic; _dh;isions of 

the envelope lenticular in outline, narrow, thin. · 

The fruit of which fortunately ·one specimen was found 

in immediate contact with the leaves, is small, marked with 

raised lines, elongate in form, and resembles mor-e th~ fruit of 
REVISION: :.OF THE FLORA OF THE .GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 175 

(Jarya oli'JJ.a,ejormi8 [Hicoria pecan Britten ?].th~n any·dther them to the noncommittal Carpites until addi-

.t;?f our livi~g, sp~ies: ·.It might be _inferred froJil _the size . tional material may help to place them more 

p.f.the nl}.t a1,1d it.s elongated ~orm that it was immature, but 

near it lies a seginE;Jnt of the-envelope which has apparently definitely. ~xf~iiated at maturity. Ai3 only one specimen of the fruit Occurrence: . Green River formation, Green 

ha.B been discovered~ it is possible that it does not repre- River, Wyo. (described and . figured as fruit 

sent the average size and form. · .of Juglans occidentalis Newberry; types, U. S. 

Newberry placed this form underJuglans, al- Nat. Mus., Nos. 7031, 7032). 

though he expressly states that· it clearly be- Carpites inquirenda Knowlton, n. sp. 

longs to Hicoria, but justified this disposition Plate XXXVIII, figure 4. 

on . the ground of the wider limit of the· old The collection from western Colorado in-· genus Juglans. He also stated that the fruit 

eludes a small fruit that I am not able to place is in" immediate contact'~ with the leaves, but 

a study of the types, which are preserved in the biologically. It is elliptical in outline, about 

United States National .Museum, . shows that 6 millimeters long and 5 millimeters broad, and 

has an inner dark nucleus, also elliptical, they are merely associate-d with leaves of Juglans occidental is on the same piece of matrix but about 3 millimeters long and 2 millimeters 

are not in organic comnection with them or in broad. This inner part has a slight projection 

1l position that suggests such union; It there- at one end, but whether this is the apex or the 

fore seems necessary to transfer it to the genus point of attachment has not been determined. 

to which it apparently belongs. :if it has been Similarly it is impossible with present knowledge to determine whether the outer portion is - correctly interpreted, and to give it a new name. 

The three type specimens have been very to be in~erpr_eted as a wing, or whether the 

f 11 t di ·d Th · · 1 f fi , 4 whole thmg Is a monospermous capsule. care u y s u e . e or1gma o gure a . . . 1

. 1 d , d. h · b t 16 ill' t 1 d 7 ill' t · This organism Is so Itt e un erstoo t at 1s a ou m nne ers ong an m nne ers . . . • · d 1 h 

b d th ··ddl It t d h t It might perhaps better be omitte a toget er, roa near e mi e. . s an s on a s or , . . . d fin' · h t 

t t d. 1 h' h · h t . · d d yet It IS a very e Ite entity t a someone s ou pe Ice ; w IC Is somew a expan e . . 1 d · b bl h d d · h' h t th may be able to mterpret correct y. an pro a y cup-s ape an m w IC .res s e . f · 'l h 1 

f ·t It h d 1 ·t ·d. 1 d' f Occurrence: Green River_ ormation, 01 s a e, 

rui · d as ~ h eep 'dong~ ul ·mda m~dia~hur- :cathedral Bluff, south of Little Tommies 

row an on eit er si e · a s en er ri ge t at D R' Bl . C t c 1 11 t d b 

l . · d. b f. h' h raw, 10 , anco oun y, o o., co ec e y near y or quite ~~appears e ore reac mgt e D E w· ·h· t . 

191 7 , 

Th . 1

. 1 h . . Inc es er, . :apex. · . ere Is very Itt e ot er s'tructure -or · 

marking between the ribs or ridges. . Phyllites winchesteri Knowlton, n. s'p. 

On the same piece of matrix as· the· speci- Plate XXXVIII, figure 2. 

men just described, about 1 centimeter from The collections from· the oil shal~s of western 

it, is .the specimen shown. in Newberry's ColoradQ include the present nearly ,perfect , 

figure · 4b. It is about 15 m~Uimeters -long and little leaf. ~t seems unfortunate to be comabout 4 millimeters wide. When viewed in the pelled to describe so fine a specimen under the 

p6sition in which.it was drawn for Newberry's, name Phyllites, but I am wholly ·unable to 

'figure it appears to be concave, much as one suggest a generic name with any degree of 

of the segments of the exoc!lrp of Hicoria assurance. It is a linear-lanceolate leaf about 

wotild appear, but when the orientation Is 3 centimeters long and 6 millimeters wide. 

-reversed it is found to be convex. The upper part is narrowed for fully a third 

The third specimen (Newberry's fig. 4c) is the length of the blade into a sharp-pointed 

' 19 millimet~rs long and about 7 millimeters apex; below it is more abruptly narrowed to 

wide. It appears to sit in the excavated apex the rather thick petiole, . which is nearly 1 

of the pedicel as described for the first speci- cep.timete:r in length. The margin is perfectly 

men mentioned. It has a single furrow a entire. · The · nervation · is peculiar. In: the 

little to one side of the middle, and there is middle and upper portions there is some insome evidence of the presence of a thin exocarp dication of a thin midrib, but in the basal 

or something of the kind on one side. · ' . portion. the midrib can :o.ot be different~ated. 

It seems to me very unlikely that these' Five or six, nerv~s of equal strength arise below 

:specimens can belong to Hicoria, and they the base of the blade ~nd spread out to divide 

•certainly can not belong to Juglans. Under equally· the area of the lower third of the leaf, 

the -circumstances it appears best to--refer .. with little indication that the middle one is 
176 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

t~e stronger. In the middle and upper portiOns even these nerves appear to be immersed in the leaf substance. 

Occurrence: Green River formation Rio ' Blanco County, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo., in sec. · 33, T. 4 S., R. 100 

!~·, collected by D. E. Winchester, ·1917. 

Phyllites fremonti Unger. 

Phyllites fremonti Unger, Genera et species plantarum 

· fossilium, p. 503, 1850. 

Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Stirvey Prof. Paper 108, p. 

94, 1917. 

L~af of a dicotyledonous plant (?) Hall, in Fremont, 

.Report of the exploring expedition to the Rocky 

Mountains in 1842, etc., Appendix B, p. 306, pl. 

11, fig. 4, 1845. 

' This species has had an interesting history. 

It was collected by Fremont in 1843 on his 

celebrated exploring expedition to the Rocky 

Mountains and beyond and was included in 

a collection of plants from the vicinity of 

what is now Cumberland, Wyo. The plants 

from this locality were long supposed to be of 

Jurassic age but are now known to belong to 

the Colorado group (Frontier formation). 89 

The pla~t under consideration was placed by 

Hall, who described the collection, at the end 

of his paper with the following remarks: 

Locality in the neighborhood of the specimens contaming the preceding fossils and regarded by Capt. Fremont 

as belonging to the same formation. The rock containing .them is a soft or very partially indurated clay, very 

unhke the hard and brittle :mass containing the other 

species. 

The probability that it did not come from 

the vicinity of the Cumberland locality is 

further strengthened by the chance statement 

"Fr. Aug. 17, and No. 201 of collection," 

which appears to mean that it was collected on 

Friday, August 17, whereas the others are 

recorded under the date August 19. Fremont's 

itinerary for the earlier date indicates that 

on . that day the expedition encamped on 

Blac~s Fork of Green River, some 40 miles 

east of the locality reached on August 19. 

In the low hills bordering the stream he found 

"strata containing handsome and very distinct 

vegetable fossils." This locality is presumably 

in the Green River formation, and if the 

above reasoning is correct it appears to dispose 

of the reference of this species to the Colorado 

flora. The type specimen is now lost, and 

hence a study of the matrix in which it was 

preserved is impossible. · 

89 Knowlton, F. H., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 108, pp. 73-107, 

1917, I 

This species was named and described as 

Phyllites. fremonti from Hall's figure. Unger 

fell into the usual error o~ ascribing it to 

Oregon, as the expedition went to "Oregon 

and north California." The above - history 

ha~ been given at some length for the purpose 

of settin;g forth the somewhat unsatisfactory 

status of this species and thus preventing 

future misunderstanding. 

Occurrence: Green River formation( n, 

Blacks Fork of Green River, Wyo. 

NordenskiOldia borealis Heer. 

Nordenskioldia borealis Heer, Flora fossilis arctica, vol. 2, 

Abt. 3, p. 65, pl. 7, figs. 1-13, 1870. 

New:berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 137, pl. 68, 

figs. 4-6, 1898. . . 

Whatever the nature of this organism may 

be there seems no doubt that it is identical 

with that described and figured by Heer. 

Occurrence: Green River formation, Green 

River, Wyo. 

Phyllites coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XXXVIII, figure 3. 

-Leaf compound; rachis strong, straight; 

leaflets opposite, lanceolate, unequal-sided, 

sharply acuminate at the apex, narrowed to 

the base and decurrent in a narrow wing that 

reaches the leaflets next below; margin perfectly entire; nervation obscure, consisting of 

a fairly strong midrib and apparently with thin 

secondaries at an angle of about 40°, but this 

is uncertain. 

This species is represented by the single 

specimen :figured, which shows three pairs of 

opposite leaflets. The lower pairs are about 

3 centimeters long and 8 or·9 millimeters wide; 

the next pairs are about 2 centimeters long and 

5 or 6 millimeters wide, and the terminal (or 

uppermost pair preserved) leaflets are only 5 

millimeters wide. 

l am uncert'ain as to the generic reference 

of this specimen. The shape and nervation 

of the leaflets strongly suggest Sapindus, and 

it may be recalled that in certain of the living 

species, such as Sapindus saponaria Linne, 

the rachis is winged between the leaflets, as 

indeed it is in some living species of Rhus, but 

in the present specimen it is the basal portion 

of the leaflet that is prqlonged as a narrow 

wing down the rachis. 

Occurrence: Green River formatio~, spring 

on Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest of Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colo., 

collected by D. E. Winchester, 1917. 1 
PLATES XXXVI-XL. 

177 
PLATE XXXVI. 

FIGURES 1-3. Myrica praedrymeja Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. 

178 

U. S. Nat. Mus. Nos. 36557, 36558, 36559. (Seep. 157 .) 

4. Danaea coloradensis Knowlton. From Rio Blanco County, Colo., about 40 miles southwest of Meeker. 

Pinnule, X 2. U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36560. (See p. 150.) · 

5. Danaea fendleri Underwood. Living species from Trinidad, introduced ~or comparison. Segment of 

fruiting pinnule, X 6. 

6. Pontederites hesperia Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36561. (Seep. 154.) 

7. Lygodium kauljussii Heer. From Little Duck Creek, Rio Blanco County, Colo: U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 

36582. (Seep. 149.) 

8. Caenomyces eucalyptae Knowlton, on leaves of Eucalyptus? america:n:us Lesquereux. From Little Duck 

Creek, about 50 miles southwest of.Meeker, Colo. X 2. For natural size, see Plate XXXIX, :figure 2. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36589. (Seep. 148.) · 

9. Same as :figure 8, X 6. Figure retouched. 

10. Caenomyces sapindicola Knowlton, on leaflet of Sapindus winchesteri Knowlton. From Greasewood 

Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. X 4. For natural size, see Plate XXXVIII, 

:figure 1. Figure retouched. U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36590. (Seep. 148.) 

.· 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XXXVII 

1 3 

6 7 

5 

4 8 

13 

12 

9 

14 

16 

10 

11 15 

FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XXXVI 

r 

3 

1 

6 

9 XG 

5 

8 10 

FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 
PLATE XXXVII. 

I 

FrOORE 1. Comptonia? anomala Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. No. 36563. (Seep. 158.) 

2. Myrica sp. From Cathedral Bluff, 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 

36564. (See p. 157 .) 

3-5. Salix sp. From Rio Blanco County, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. Nos. 

36565, 36566, 36567. (See. p. 156.) · · .. ·. 

6. Pimelea spatulata Kn_owlton. From Cathedral Bluff, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post, office, Colo. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36568. (Seep. 16~ .) ' . 

7. Sedum? ·hesperium Knowlton. From Cathedral. Bhiff, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office, Colo. 

U. S. Nat .. Mus. No. 36569. (Seep. 163.) · 

8. Salix linearis Knowlton. From Rio Blanco County, Colo., about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36570. (Seep. 155.) 

9-11. Rhus myricoides Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. Nos. 36571, 36572, 36573. · (Seep. 168.) ' . 

12. Myrica minuta Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. No. 36574. (Seep. 157.) 

13. Carpolithus caryophylloides Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. No. 36575. (Seep. 174.) 

14-16. Sophora coloradensis Knowlton. Figures 14 and 16 from Little Duck Creek, Rio Blanco County, Colo., 

about 50 miles southwest of Meeker; figure 15 from Camp Gulch, 25 miles northwest of De Beque, 

· Colo. U.S. Nat. Mus. Nos. 36576, 36577, 36578. (Seep. 165.) 

179 

/ 
PLATE XXXVIII. 

FIGURE 1. Sapindus urinchesteri Knowlton. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. 

U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36579. (Seep. 167.) 

2. Phyllites urinchesteri Knowlton. From Cathedral Bluff, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office, Cool. 

U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36580. (Seep. 175.) 

3. Phyllites coloradensis Knowlton. From Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest o£ Meeker, Colo. 

U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36581. (Seep. 176.) . 

4. Carpites inq'lfirenda Knowlton. From Cathedral Bluff, about 20 miles west of Rio'Blanco post office, Colo. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36582. (Seep. 175.) 

5. Juglans urinchesteri Knowlton. From Cathedral Bluff, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco post office, 

Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36583. (Seep. 160.) 

6. Oreodaphne viridiflumensis Knowlton. From Rio Blanco County, Colo., about 40 miles southwest of Meeker. 

U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36584. (Seep. 163.) 

180 
U. S. GEOJ..~OGICAL SURVEY . PROFESSIO~AL PAPER 131 PLATE XXXVIII 

5 6 

FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 

PROPERTY OF U. S. BUREAU OF MINES -
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XXXIX 

1 

3 

4 

FLORA OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION. 
FIGURES 1-3. Eucalyptus? americanus Lesquere.ux. Fi res 1 and 2 from Little Duck Creek, 50 miles southwest' 

<;Jf Meeker, Colo.; figure 3 from ridge be ween Carr and Bushy creeks, Garfield County, Colo. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. Nos. 36585, 36586, 36587. ( ee p. 171.) · 

4. Aralia wyomingensis Knowlton and Cocke ell. 'Fron:i Cathedral Blu~, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

postoffice, Colo. U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 6588. (Seep. 172.) 

181 
PLATE XL. 

FIGURES 1-3. Mimosites coloradensis Knowlton. From Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest of Mee'ker, Colo. 

182 

U .. S. Nat. Mus. Nos. 36591, 36592, 36593. (See p. 166.) 

4. Achaenites cichorioides Knowlton. From Camp Gulch, about 25 miles northwest of De Beque, Colo. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36594 . . (Seep. 173.) 

5, 6. Dalbergia retusa Knowlton. From Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. Nos. 36595, 36596. (Seep. 165.) 

7. Zizyphus longifolia Newberry. From Greasewood Creek, about 40 miles southwest of Meeker, Colo. 

U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 36597. (Seep. 169.) 

8, 9. SambucUs? winchesteri Knowlton. Figure 8, natural appoorance, X 6; figure 9, restoration of figure 8, X ·9 

From Rio Blanco County, Colo., about 40 miles southwest of Meeker. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36598. 

(Seep. 173.) 

10. Dalbergia viridijlumensis Knowlton. From Rio Blanco County, Colo., about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36599. (Seep. 164,) 

11. Sophora coloradensis K:~wwlton. From Little Duck Creek, about 50 miles southwest-of Meeker, Colo. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36600. (Seep. 165.) , 

12. Aralia wyomingensis Knowlton and Cockerell. From Cathedral Bluff, about 20 miles west of Rio Blanco 

post office, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36601. (Seep. 172.) 

13. Myrica sp. From head of Carr Creek, about 30 miles northwest of De Beque, Co~o. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

No. 36602. (See p. 158.) 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAl, PAPER 131 l'LATE XL 

1 4 

2 

5 

6 

10 

7 9 11 

3 

13 

FLORA OF THE REEN RIVER FORMATION. 

'' 1 .. 

I , . I 

• , 

FOSSIL PLANTS FROM THE . TERTIARY LAKE . BEDS OF. SOlJTH-CENTRAL 

FOLORADO. :• 

I 

By [F. H. KNOWLTON • 

. I 

The first of the Tertiary lake beds o.f C~lorado 

to be brought to scientific attention were those 

at Florissant, discovered' in 1873 by D~. A. C. 

Peale, of _ the Hayden Geological Survey. 

Lake Florissant was a small lake,. approximately 5 miles in length and n.'ot much if any 

€xceeding a mile in width, occupying a tmountain valley with its laterals eroded in granite by 

stream action. The present altitude of the 

lake beds is a little more than 5,000 feet above 

sea level. The composition of these beds is 

described. by Henderson 1 as follows: I 

The beds are composed chiefly of volcanic ashes, mud, 

and sand, the component particles of which are generally 

somewhat though not very much worn by the kction of 

water. The conclusion reached in both field and laboratory is that the deposits were· formed largely by !volcanic 

ashes from repeated eruptions falling upon the surface of 

the water and settling to the bottom, assorted by !the sluggish lake currents; also by mud and ashes falling or flowing into position where they were rapidly washed into the 

lake by rains, streams, and waves '.vithout much krinding. 

The Florissant lake beds have provef to be 

highly fossiliferous, perhaps more abundantly 

so than any other deposits in the world.! They 

are especially rich in remains of plants and 

insects. During the period of nearly 5e years 

since their discovery these fossil riches have 

been abundantly exploited, and . they re now 

known to include more than 1,000 sp~cies of 

insects and nearly 250 species· of plants 1

• • 

The Florissant lake beds were long supposed 

to be unique, but the more -and 'more intensive 

geologic work prosecuted in the Rocky ~fountain . region, especially within. the last -2p. years, 

has · disclosed . a number· of other .lake.,. bed 

deposits i:t;J. the San Juan Mountain region of. 

south-central Colorado. . T,he . object ~ of the 

present paper is .to bring to scientific· attention 

the location, present known extent, and flora 

of these scattered lake beds. The desqription 

of · the flora is purely preliminary and will 

undoubtedly be greatly increased . with more 

thorough exploration. 

The plants described in the following pages 

were' all collected from rocks deposited during 

the volcanic period of the San Juan Mountain 

region, though from several .different formations. The lake beds aggregate some thousands of feef in thickness, and there is evidence 

to show that several of the formational units 

were separated by periods of extensive erosion, 

during which canyons were cut to the depth of 

several thousand feet. The position in the 

geologic column can· be understood from the 

accompanying genera~ized section, which has 

been supplied by E. S. Larsen, of the United 

States Geological Survey. 

Mr~ Larsen makes the following statement: I 

The periods of erosion separating these formations were 

all of sufficient length to develop canyons several thousand 

feet deep and a youthful topography comparable to that 

.of the present San Juan Mountains. This no doubt repre-

.sents a very great number of years but only a small fraction 

of the time required to develop a mature topography. 

The most abundant and best-preserved ·plant remains 

were collected from the Creede formation .. This formation 

is made up chiefly of thin-bedded rhyoli_te tuff i:q. its lower 

part, but it carries much gravel, and some lava flows in its 

.upper part. Some travertine is present ... The formation 

was deposited in a deep, steep-walled basin that w:as cut 

in rocks of the Potosi volcanic serief'l and that coincides 

approximately with the present valley of the Rio Grande 

from Wagon Wheel Gap westwa;rd to th~ mouth of Trout 

. Creek, a distance of about. 25 mi_les, but was cons.iderably 

narrower. The maximum thickp.ess is pver 2,000 feet. 

·The best plant remains were collec~ed from the thiiJ,ly laminated tuffs in the lower part of the forma~ion. The cliffs 

exposed above Seven:mi,le Bridge are about 100. feet high 

. and are almost continuous Oil, the northwest bank of the 

1 Henderson, Junius; Colorado ·univ. Studies, vol. 3, .p}l. 1i 5-151, 1906. . river for over ·a mile. 

183 

I 

1. 
184 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

The localities and the species found at each are listed 

below. 

Cross. No. La G. 2 [5951]. Crude formation, La Garita 

quadrangle, Colo. Ridge north of stream which passes Hot 

Spring Hotel at altitude of 9,000 feet: 

Minute fragments of bark, coniferous leaves, etc., 

. but nothjng determinable. 

Cross. 'No. La G. 24 [5952): Cree.de formation,· south 

bank of Rio Grande 150 yards above wagon bridge, 3~ miles 

below Creede, Colo.: 

Feather of bird. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Ribes protomelaenum Cockerell. 

Rubus? inquirendus Knowlton, n. sp. 

Vitis florissantella Cockerell. 

Odostemon marginata (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. 

comb. 

Odostemon hakeaefolia (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. 

comb. 

Sterculia aceroides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Phyllites, two sp. 

From the foregoing lists it appears that 5 

of the 8 collections and no less than 18 of Fragments. 

Cross. No. La G. 93 [5953). Creede formation, west side the 19 forms enumerated come from the Creede 

of Rio Grande one-fourth mile north of Sevenmile Bridge, formation. From beds believed to belong to 

below Creede, Colo., near boundary of San Cristobal quad- the Huerto formation the single collection 

rangle: yielded three named species, all of which 

Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp. occur also in the Creede formation. 

Abies rigida Knowlton, n. sp. 

Myrica myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. A complete list of forms described in this. 

Feather of bird. paper is as follows: 

Cross. No. S. C. 1566 [5954]. Huerto formation, in a Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp. 

lens 100 yards long, N. 3no E. of houses at north end of Pinus similis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Lake Santa Maria, San Cristobal quadrangle, Colo., alti- Pinus florissanti? Lesquereux. 

tude 10,350 feet: Pinus coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Pinus similis Knowlton, n. sp. Abies rigida Knowlton, n. sp. 

Rihes protomelaenum Cockerell. Abies longirostris Knowlton, n. sp. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell? Sabina linguaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Phyllites potentilloides Knowlton, n. sp. Populus lesquereuxi Cockerell. 

Cross. 1911. No. La G. 536 [6198). Creede formation, Alnus? larseni Knowlton, n. sp. 

west side of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, near Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Creede, Colo., altitude 8,800-9,000 feet: Ribes protomelaenuni Cockerell. 

Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp. Rubus? inquirendus Knowlton n. sp. 

Abies rigida Knowlton, n. sp. Vitis florissantella Cockerell. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. Odostemon marginata (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. 

Odostemon marginata (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb, 

comb. Odostemon hakeaefolia (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. Vitis fiorissantella Cockerell. comb. 

Populus lesquereuxi Cockerell. Sterculia aceroides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Insect (beetle?). Phyllites potentilloides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Feathers. Phyllites, two sp. 

Cross. 1914. No. 516 [6889). Conejos t?) formation, 

Saguache quadrangle, Colo., gulch west of Henderson On eliminating the forms not named there 

Mountain, about ll miles north of Saguache River: remain 8 species described as new and & 

Coniferous wood, not further studied. previously known species. As all these preCross. 1914. No. 437 [6858]. Saguache quadrangle, viously known species are found in the lake 

Colo., rhyolite tuff in railroad cut below (west<..~~ Marshall beds at Florissant, Colo., it seems reasonable 

Pass, where railroad crosses gulch at Shavano siding; geologic position uncertain but probably considerably below to conclude that the age of the lake beds of 

Conejos formation: the Creede formation is the same as that of 

· Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp.? the Florissant beds, namely, upper Miocene. 

Fragments not determinable. From the Huerto formation were obtained 

Larsen. 1916. [7242]. Creede formation, north bank I . d · (P · · · "l" Pl 

f R. G d s ·

1 B "d b c d c 1 1 three name speCies ~nus s~m~ ~, anera o 10 ·ran e near evennn e n ge, a ove ree e, o o .. : · . . . 

Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp. . myr~caefoha, and R~bes protomelaenum) and 

Pinus similis Knowlton, n. sp. an unamed Phyllites. All three of the named 

Pinus coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. species are found in the Creede formt\tion; 

Pinus florissanti? Lesquereux. and two of them are well-known Florissant-· Abies rigida Knowlton, n. sp. · Th n1 h 11 · h f 

S b. 1· f 1· (L ) c k 11 sp_eciCs. e o y ot er co ectwn-t at rom a 1na mguae o 1a esquereux oc ere . . . . Alncis? larseni Knowlton, n. sp. Marshall Pass-contains a single doubtfully 

Populus lesquereuxi Cockerell. identified form (Pinus crossii?) and detached 
Geologicjormatilms in a part of 11ouJhwestern Colorado. 

P latoro-Summlt'\'ille oilstrlrt' soutbwe-;tem C«o- I 

rado. { Pattoo, H. B. (quoting unpuiJ!isb Croodedistrkt,.outb nero Colorado. (Em- namrs or Whitman Cr.· nnd E. . LA nl. mODS, W. H., end Larsen, E. ·.,U.S. Oeol. 

Colocndo Goo!. survey Bull. 13, •vitb mnp, 1~17 ) un-ey Bull. 71 • tro:!.) 

Hinsdale Yolcanic series. 

I Quartz latite porphyry dikes. Mio- cene. 

Fisher quartz latite. 0;-3 .+. feet. I Fisher quar~z latite. ~amcd for x~es m VlClnlty of 0-100 ± i t 

Fisher Mountalll, Crecde quad.rangle.] ee · 

fiocene. 

I Creede formation. 0- 2,000± feet. 

Lake beds of tuff with some flow 

of quartz latite in upper part. Miocene. 

n Juan Mountain region, southwestern Colorado. (Cross, Whitmnn. folios of U. S. Oeol. urvey Oeol. Atlas and other published reports.) 

Hinsdale volcanic series. 0-1,200± 

feet. Probably Miocene or Plio- cene. Lava flow of rhyolite, an- desite, and basalt. amed in 1911 

( . . Geol. urvey Bull. 478, p_. 22), 

for important development in Hinsdale County, Colo. 

Intrusive rhyolite, andesite, Ja.tite, 

and quartz monzonite porphyry. 

--.--------------------------~~--~~~- ~ 

~ 

~ UJ 

() 

·a 

Piedra formation . r A series of volcanic flows, witn subordinate 

tuff, predominantly of rhyolite 

and quartz latite. 0-2,000+ 

feet. eparated from underlying Huerto formation by an ero- sion interval. amed for ex- posures in Piedra Peak, San 

Cristobal quadrangle, Colo.] 

Huerto formation. [A series of 

andesitic flows and tUff breccias, 0-2,000+ feet thick, which com- monly overlie the Alboroto for- mationratherregularly. amed 

for occurrence on Huerto Peak, 

in the southern part of the San 

Cristobal quadrangle, Colo., west 

of fluerto Creek.) 

~ 1---------- ~ 

'al 

~ 

A.lboroto iormation. [A seri of 

quartz 1:\titc and rhyolite !lows 

with somo tuff. o-::!,000+ feet. 

Sopa.raLed from Summitville an- desite by an erosion interval. 

Named ior occurrence in Albo- roto Mountain, in the southeast corner of the San Cri tobal quad- rangle, Colo.) 

Summitville andesite. [ amed 

for exposures near Summitville, 

Colo. o-3,000+ feet.] 

Treasure Mountain latite. [ a.med 

for ex:posures on Treasure Mountain, m the northwestern part 

of the u.mmitville quadrangle. 

0-1,000+ feet.] 

Palisade andesite (Conejos formation). [Palisade has long been 

preoccupied by the Palisade 

diabase of ew Jersey. The name adopted by the U. S. Geol. 

Survey for these rocks is Conejos 

formation, derived from their 

exposures along Conejos River. 0-3,000+ feet.] 

I 

Q;' 

1::1 

8 

0 

~ 

ill ·g 

., 

u 

·a 

~ 

0 

;> 

'al 

~ 

Xelson Mountain quartz latite. Q-350 feet. 

Rat Creek quartz latite. 

Q-500 feet. 

Quartz latite tuff. Q-500 

feet. 

Andesite. D-500 feet. 

~ 1---------------------1 ;:l 

to Intrusive andesite. 

~1 --1 

1l Tridymite latite. D-4.00 feet. 

p.:: 

Windy Gulch 

rhyolite 

breccia. 

100-200+ 

feet. 

Horn blend 

quartzlatite 

200 feet. 

Rhyolite tuiT 

(to east). 

o-200 feet. Mammoth 

Mountain 

rhyolite. o-1,000 f et. 

Equity quartz latite. o-1,000 feet. 

Phoenix Park quartz latite. 0-500 feet. 

Intrusive rhyolite. 

Campbell Mountain rhyo- lite. 0- 1,000 feet. 

Willow reek rhyolite. 

1 0- 1,000+ feet. 

~I 

Outlet Tunnel quartz latite. 25Q-350+ feet. 

Potosi volcanic erie . o-2,000± feet, 

fiocene. Lava flows of rhyolite, 

quartz latite, andesite, and tuff. 

Locally divisible into several formations. amed in 1899 (l . S. 

Geol. urvey Geol. Atlas, Telluride folio, o. 57), for velopmen~ 

on Potosi Peak, ilverton quadrangle, Colo. 

--L---------------------------- ---L--------------------------~~~~~~~~~ 

Silverton volcanic series. 0-4,000± 

feet. Probably Oligocene or early :Miocene. Succ on of flows of 

andesite la.tit , rhyoli.te1 ~uff, ~d 

breccia. Locally dlVlSlble mto 

several formations. amed in 1901 

( . . Geol. urvey Bull. 1 21 p. 32) 

for extensive development m SilYerton quadrangle, olo. 

an Juan tuff. 0- 3,000± feet. Probably Eoc ne. eri of stratified 

and water-laid andesi tic tuffs, breccias, and agglomerate . amed in 

1 96 ( olorado ci. oc. Proc., vol. 

5 pp. 225-24.1 for important dev'elopment in an Juan Mountaius, 

olo. 

Lake Fork breccia.. o-1,000± feet. 

Probably Eocene. Chie~y chaotic 

a.ndesitic flow and brecCias locally deYeloped in the ncompahgre and 

adjoining quadrangles, Colo. llere 

named by \Thitman r and E . S. 

Larsen for expo urea on the Lake 

Fork of Gunnison River, in the 

l ncompahgre quadrangle, Colo. 

Telluride conglomerate. 0-1,000 feet. 

Probably Eocene. Coarse con- glomerate containing pebbles and 

boulders of schist, granite, quart~­

ite, lim ne, and other Paleo1.mc rocks, with locally fine sandy lime- stones. riginaUy named " an :lligu I formation ' in 1 96 (Colorado ci. c. Proc., vol. 5, pp. 

225-241) for e.'<posures on north 

side oi • an Iiguel River in the 

Yicinity of Telluride, olo. an ¥iguel being preoccupied by a Cretaceous formation of Texas, this 

conglom rate was in 1905 ( •. . Geol. urvey eol. Atl , ilv~n 

folio, No. 120) renamed Tellurtde 

conglomerate. 

91(),1 •-23. (Face p . 184.) 
FOSSIL PLANTS .-OF SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO. 185 

leaves of Pinus and probably Abies. This pines and the hard pines, the former known 

collection is supposed to be much older than by their cluster of leaves in fives or fours. 

the others, but its position is somewhat un- The next in · abundance and interest are the 

certain. two species of Odostemon, the genus to which 

So far as present known facts go it appears the well-known Oregon grape belongs. Both 

that the same flora ranges through the entire species-if they are really distinct-occur also 

thickness of these lake deposits. Although in the Florissant beds, and it is believed that 

the formational units involved are hundreds of they are correctly placed generically, as they 

feet thick, and although many of these units agree in all essential particulars with the living 

are separated _ by unconformities representing species. Four living species of Odostemon are 

periods of erosion during which thousands of now found in the Rocky Mountain area, and it 

feet of beds were cut out, the deposition of the would seem that they are the direct descendants 

whole series occupied relatively so_ short a of the Miocene forms. 

time that the changes in conditions do not None of the other genera (Populus, Alnus, 

appear to be reflected in the flora. Of course Ribes, VitiS) offer features of particular bio-

:subsequent studies and collections may modify logic interest. The species referred with some 

this conclusion, but it is all that can be said at question to Rubus is a small spray of flowers and 

present. immature fruit that if not actually a member of 

The . flora of these lake beds as described this genus is certainly very strmigly suggestive 

in this paper is so smail that it is perhaps · of it. 

hardly worth while to attempt any extensive The climatic requirements of this little flora 

discussion of the affinity, probable origin, and would seem to be temperate, perhaps cool 

.climatic requirements of the species included, temperate, but it is still too small to warrant 

yet they show a number of biologic features a very positive conclusion. 

of considerable interest. The most abundant 

element in the flora consists of the Coniferae, 

which comprise · over a third of the species 

and nearly half of the individual specimens. 

Although nine forms of conifers have been 

reported from the Florissant lake beds, all 

but one or two are very rare as inq.ividuals. 

It is probable that the increased elevation of 

the Creede deposits may account for the abun-

·dance of conifers, though more extended exploration will doubtless reduce this apparent 

preponderance. The Jost interesting of these 

·conifers are the species of Abies, of which the 

specimens collected represent leafy branches 

.and cone scales. It 1 is possible ' that the 

branches and scales may belong to a single . - I species, but as they are wholly unconnected 

it has been necessary /to give them separate 

names. The cone sca~es indicate the group 

·of Abies in which the bracts adhere firmly to 

the scale and are prolo~ged above into a long, 

:slender tip, which may be as much as 4 centimeters in length. This group seems to be 

most closely related tb Abies venusta Koch, 

the so-called silver fir J of California. This is 

the first time, at leastJ in this country, that 

~one s?ales of this typie have been observ~d. The pmes represent bpth the soft or white 

Pinus crossii Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLI, figures 3, 8-10. 

Leaves in clusters of five, stout, rigid, slightly 

incurved, sharp pointed, 2.5 to about 4 centimeters long; sheaths of the leaf clusters deciduous. 

· This species is represented by a number of 

specimens, several of the best of which are figured. lt is assumed that the normal number of 

leaves is five in each cluster, but there are a few 

examples in which only three can be made out. 

Thus, {n the fragment of a branch shown in figure 3, there are two clusters, each with three 

leaves that otherwise agree with the five.:. 

leaved clusters. Although it is not impossible 

for the leaves to vary in number from three to 

five in the same species, it seems improbable in 

the present case, and, as stated above, the normal numbe~ is presumed to be five. 

This species seems clearly to belong to the 

group of soft or white pines, not only as shown 

by the leaves being in clusters of five but more 

particularly by the comple'te absence of the 

sheath to the leaf bases. It seems to be most 

closely related to P.inus albicaulis Engelmann, 

a species of alpine slopes and exposed ridges 
186 SHOR.TER CONTRIBUTIONS •ro GENERA~ GEOLOGY, 1922. 

·throughout the Rocky Mountain region, at altitudes ranging from $,000 to 12,000·feet. 

Two speci~s based on leaves· have been described from the lake .beds at Florissant-Pinus 

hambachi Kirchner, 2 supposed to have the 

leaves in clusters of three,_ and Pinus wheeleri 

Cockerell,3 with the leaves in fives. In the 

original description of P. wheeleri the leaves are 

said to be 12 centimeters or more in length, but 

in descriptions of later specimens the length has 

been given as somewhat less. Nothing is said 

as to the sheath in this species, so this feature 

can not be compared with P. crossi·i. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

· of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo.; rhyolite tuff of unknown age but probably considerably older than Conejos formation, 

below (west of) Marshall Pass, Saguache quadrangle, Colo. 

Pinus sirnilis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLI, figures 11, 12. 

. · Pinus fiQrissanti? L_esquereux. 

Plate 4LI, .figure 7. 

Pinus jlorissanti L~squereux, U. S. Geol.: Survey Ten _ 

·Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras)~ 

p. 138, pl. 21, fig. 13t 1883. 

The collection contains a single large frag-· 

mentary cone that seems to be ·the same as 

Pinus jlorissanti Lesquereux. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Grande, near .Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

Pinus. coloradensis Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLI, figure 6. 

Cone with a ·very short, thick stalk, ovoid,. 

very obtuse at apex, 3 centimeters long,. 

2.3 centimeters in diameter; scales much_ 

thickened at the end; apparently with a short. 

sprne. 

The example figured is the only one of this . 

type observed in the collections. It is fairlyperfect except for a few scales at t~e. bas_e. 

By making an impression in cl~y the original 

appearance is -restored, as shown in figure 6. 

Leaves in clusters of four, stout, straight, At first it was presumed that this specimen 

4.5 to 5.5 centimeters long; sheath of· the leaf, was probably the cone of Pinus crossii, with_ 

clusters absent. which it was associated, but whereas the abIt is w1th considerable hesitation that this sence of persistent sheaths to the leaf clusters. 

form is described as a new species, as it may be proves that form to belong to the _ soft ·pines, 

-only a slightly larger form . of Pinus . cross~i., the· thickened tips of the scales in the present . 

. The base of the leaves is indistinguishable In form show it clearly to belong to the har~ 

appearance in the. two forn;J.s, and ; the pre~e~~e pines. This . form -is, for instance, not greatly 

of only four leaves in the cluster of P. s~rn~l?:S unlike the cone of Pinus arizonica Engelmann,. 

may be due to .accident, th.ougP, there is no but · this resemblance is doubtfully to . be 

. evidence of it in the best preserved e~ample. ··interpreted as a real relationship. . 

A single detached leaf on the . same .Piece ~f . . The . only fossil . species of the ·region and 

·matrix is the largest one observed· (5.5 centi-.. age with which this may be compared . is. 

meters). . . . Pinus jlorissanti Lesquereux, 5 from· the FlorisIndividual leaves of this fo:m are rndis~. sant lake beds, but this is a cone 10 centitinguishable from leaves o~ P~nus hambach~ meters or more in length and 6 centimeters in 

Kirchner, 4 from the . Flor1s~ant lake be~s, diameter and moreover, the thickened tips 

but that species is said · to have. the leaves In of the co~e sc~les appear to be· different. 

clusters of three, and the resemblance .may be Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

only superficial. · . · of Rio· Grande, near Sevenmile Bridge, ·Creede, Occurrence: Creede formatwn, north bank C I 

of Rio Grande, near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 0 o. 

Colo.; Huerto formation, north end of Lake 

Santa Maria, San Cristobal quadrangle, Colo. 

2 Kirchner, W. C. G., St. Louis Acad. Sci. Trans., vol. 9, p. 179, pl. 13, 

fig. 3, 1898. ' 

a Cockerell, T. D. A., Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull., vol. 24, p. 78, pl. 6, 

figs. 5, 11, 1908. 

·4 Kirchner, W. C. G., St. Louis Acad. Sci. Trans., vol. 9, p. 174, pl.13, 

fig. 3, 1898. . 

Abies rigida Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLI, ~gures 1, 2, 4, 5. 

The ·collection from . Creede contains a 

number of leafy branches that appear to belongto the genus Abies, but whether they represent 

o Lesquereux, Leo, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous. 

and Tertiary floras), pl. 21, fig. 13, 1883. 
I 

FOSSIL PLANTS . OF SOUTH-CENTRAL .CDLORADO.' 187 

more than one· species is. difficult to decide. 

The one shown in figure 5 is , a segment from 

a branch and is about 6 centimeters long, 

· 6 millimeters in diameter at the base, ·and 5 

millimeters at the ·ttpex. It shows the scars 

of leav~s disposed in oblique rows. on· one 

side the leaves are attached, these being 

apparently rather rigid, slightly arched ·upward, and obtusely pointed at the tips; they 

are about 12 millimeters long. . The branch 

shown in figure 2 is the tip of a branch about 

4 millimeters in diameter and has the leaves· 

preserved on all sides. The leaves are much 

the same as in figure 5. Leaf scars are present 

at several points on the branch. Figure 4 

is also the tip of a branch that retains most 

of the leaves. The leaves seem ·narrower 

and less rigid than in the other specimens mentioned; they are 2 centimeters or more in 

length. The specimen given in figure 1 is 

a shoot segment from which most ·of the leaves 

have fallen and is figured m.ainly because it 

shows the leaf scars so plainly. The leaves 

appear to agree most closely with those of 

figure 2. . . 

It is possible that the specime.ns 'shown in 

figures 1 and 2 are specifically distinct from 

those of figures 4 and 5, but as only one type 

of Abies cone has been found it seems best 

to keep them together frir the ,present. It 

is of course not at all certain ~hat the .Pone 

scales belong to either o( the branches, though 

it is perhaps a fair inference that they do. . · 

Occurrence; Creede for:rp.at~on, north bank 

of Rio Grande, near Seveninile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

Abies ·longirostris Knowlton, n. sp. 

Pl~te XLII, figures 1, 2. 

Cone scales thin, fiat, much broader than lo~g 

(16 to 18 millimeters wide, 8 to 10 millimeters 

long exclusive of the basal attached point); 

bracts of cone scales oblong, firmly attached to 

the scales and deciduous with them, prolonged 

above into a slender, rigid tip 2 to 4 centimeters long. · 

The collection contains a number of detached cone scales that appear certainly to 

belong to Abies. They are excellently preserved, the two 'selected' for figuring being 

practically perfect. They show both sides of 

the scale. The one in figure 1 shows the back 

of the scale with the ' :narrowly oblong bract 

firmly adhering to it and prolonged above into 

a rigid tip or spine fully 4 centimeters long. 

The other ~fig. 2) exhibits the upper side of the 

cone scale with the bract · prolonged above it 

for more tfan 4 centimeters. 

This spscies appears· to be most closely related to A~ies yenusta Koch,_ the. so-called silver 

fir of the $anta Lucia Mountains in Monterey 

County, C~lif.; ,at least it agrees with that 

species in orne important particulars, such as 

the firm consolidation of the bract with the 

cone scale~, and its prolongation into the long, 

slender ti~. . · 

Occurre! ce-: Creede formation, north bank of 

Rio Gran· · e near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. · . 

Sabina linguaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Sabina linguaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell, Colorado 

Univ. ~tudies, vol. 3, p. 175, 1906; Am. Mus. Nat. 

Knowlto , U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 51, p. 249, 1916. 

Hist. iull., vol. 24, p. 79, 1908. . 

W1:ddri71:gtoni linguaefolia Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey T rr. Rept. , vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary 

floras), p. 139, pl. 21, figs. 14, 14a, 1883. .· 

This· ch racteristic species is represented by 

a s.ingle brt nqh with two .or three short branch~ ~~. . . 

Occurre ce: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Gr nde near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

O.l.)ulus lesquereuxi Cockerell. 

Plate XLIV. ' 

Populus lesq ereuxi Cockerell, Torrey Bot. Club Bull., 

vol. 33 p. 307' 1906. ' 

Populus heer i Saporta. Lesquereux, U. S. Gedl. Survey 

Terr. ept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), 

p. 157, pl. 30, figs. 1-8; pl. 31, fig. 11,1883. 

The bas t portion with its petiole complete 

of a very l rge leaf is all that was found of this 

species. he petiole is nearly 3 millimeters 

thick and .5 centimeters long. The width of 

the blade s slightly more th8tn 6 centimeters. 

This lea is similar in size to the largest one 

figured by Lesquerelix (op. cit., pl. 30, fig. 5), 

which lac E! the basal portion and the petiole, 

which the resent leaf supplies. Lesquereux's 

leaf must ave been nearly or quite 24 centimeters in l ngth. 

Occurre ce: Creede formation, west bank of 

Rio Gran e nea.r S~venmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. • 
188 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS. TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Alnus? l~rseni Knowlton, n. sp. 

· Plate XLII, figure 3. 

Leaf Gmall, evidently firm in t~xture, elliptical, about equally narrowed to both base and 

apex; margin sharply serrate; petiole long, 

slender; nervation faintly preserved) consisting of a relatively strong midrib and seven or 

eight pairs of thin secondaries at an angle of 

about 40°; finer nervation not retained. 

Only a single specimen of this form with its 

counterpart was found in the collection. It is 

regularly elliptical, 6 centimeters l 'lng and 2.8 

centimeters wide, with the petiolt preserved 

for a length of 1.5 centimeters. 

' I am a little in doubt as to the generic reference of this leaf. In living species of Alnus 

the margin is often doubly serrate, sometimes 

crenate-dentate, and only rarely-as, for instance, in Alnus maritima Nuttall-simply 

serrate. The present leaf is similar to Alnus 

corrallina Lesquereux, 6 . from the Miocene of 

California, but it has fewer, more irregular 

secondaries. The finer nervation can not be 

compared. 

The species is named in honor of Esper S. 

Larsen; of the United States Geological Survey, 

who collected it. 

. Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank of 

Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell. 

Plate XLIII, figures 16, 17. 

Planera myricaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell, Am. Mus. 

Nat. Hist. Bull., vol. 24, p. 88, 1908. 

Knowlton, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 51, p. 266, pl. 

21, fig. 2, 1916. ' 

Planera longifolia myricaefolia Lesquereux, U . . S. Geol. 

Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 161, pl. 19, figs. 14-27, 1883. 

Rubus? inquirendus Knowlton, n. sp. 

· Plate XLIII, figure 11. 

Inflorescence racemose, main axis zigzag, 

about 14 millimeters long, flowers scattered, 

pediceled, the pedicels slender, 2 o~ 3 milli~ 

meters .long; calyx inferior, five-p~rted; fruit 

( ?) obscure. 

It is with some hesitation that this little inflorescence is referred to Rubus. It is very 

small and delicate, and the preservation is 

not all that could be desired. Neither the 

main axis nor the pedicels are provided with 

prickles or glands, nor is each pedicel subtended by a bract, as in many living species; 

but, on the other hand, there are a number 

of recent species without' all or some of these 

features. The calyx is very obscure. It appears certainly to be inferior and five-parted, 

though only three lobes are preserved in any 

one flower. . The central part of the "flower" . 

is so poorly preserved that its exact nature 

can not be made out with certainty. It may 

consist of a definite number or possibly a mass 

of carpels. 

It is possibly unwise to attempt even ·a tentative placing of this fragment, but fossil 

flowers and fruits are so rare that even poorly 

preserved specimens may have sorne value . 

This form is perhaps definite enough to permit 

its recognition if again found. 

Occurrence: ·Creede formation, north bank of 

Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

Ribes protomelaenum Cockerell. 

Plate XLII, figures ~9. 

Ribes protomelaenum Cockerell, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

Bull., vol. 24, p. 93, pl. 7, fig. 15, 1908. 

This species was founded on a single example 

from the Floris~ant lake beds and is described 

The collection from Creede contains about a \as being about 4.6 centimeters long and fully 

dozen leaves that are undoubtedly identical 6 centimeters broad. It is described as having 

with this species. They are smaller than the the base deeply cordate, "the sides of the , 

average leaves figured by Lesquereux, though basal portion rounded, without lobes." The 

not smaller than the smallest one. figure shows that the basal portion is entirely 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank absent on one side, and the other appears. 

of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, rather indefinite. 

Colo. Huerto formation, nor.th end of Lake The collection from Creede contains about 

Santa Maria, San Cristobal quadrangle, Colo. a dozen leaves referred to this species, of 

. ' . I various sizes and very perfectly preserved. 6 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous • • · 

and Tertiary floras), pl. iil, figs.l-3, 1883. · They are all d1stmctly five-lobed,, and the 

• 
FOSSIL PLANTS OF SOUTH -CEN COLORADO. -

bBSal lobes are smaller than the upper lobes 

and in some specimens nearly· entire. · The 

largest leaf (fig. 8) is 5.3 centimeters long to 

the top of the petiole and 5.7 ceentimeters 

broad. It has the petiole preserved for a 

len~th of 1 ~entir1eter. The ~ext inl s~ze (fig. 

9) Is absolutely perfect and .!lS 3 ce:p.trmeters 

long and 4 centimeters br-oad between the 

upper lobes. The petiole ·eomp1ete is 1.8 

centime~ers long. Still ~maller ler ves are 

shown rn figures 5-7. F1gure ? rfpresents 

an almost perfect leaf L7 oontuneters long 

and 2.3 centimeters wide, with the petiole 1.2 

centimeters long. · I 

Ribes protomelaenum resembles closely a 

number of living species. Cockerell compared 

it to Ribes nigrum Linne and R. hud~onia~um 

· Richards, but even more dearly it 8eems to 

me to resemble R. rubrum Linne 1 and R. 

prostratum L'Heritier. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge1

, Creede, 

Colo.; Huerto formation, north end 1 of Lake 

. Santa Maria, San Cristobal quadrangle, Colo. 

Vitis fiorissantella Cockerell. 

Plate XLII, figure 4. 

Vitis jlorissantella Cockerell, Am. Mllil. Nat. ~t. Bull., 

vol. 24, p. 102, pl. 7, fig. 18, 1908. j . 

. A single leaf with its counterpar~ clearly 

belongs: to this species. It is even smaller 

than the : type, being only about 22 millimeters long and 23 millimeters bto~d. It 

lacks the basal portion but otherwise agrees 

with the type. 1 

• 

Occurrence: Creede formation, west bank 

of Rio Grande near Sevenmile BridgJ, Cree<J,e, 

Colo. 

Odostemon marginata(?) (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb. · 

. . Plate XLIII, .figures 7-10. . . . 

Hedera marginala Lesquereux, U. S. Geol.. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiaq floras), p. 

17~, pl. ·40, fig. 8, 1883. . ·' .f 

Leaves pinnate 0), at least trifoliolate, 

petiole short, stout; leaflets coriaceous in 

texture, closely sessile at the top of thf( petiole, 

nearly circular or broadly ovate, very obtusely 

wedge-shaped, truncate or even slightly heart..: 

shaped at base, the margin with usually 'three 

91048°--23----113 

,. 

I. 

strong t eth or lobes on each side, the lobes; 

sharp-po· ted and apparently' spine-tipped.;: 

nervatio palmate from the base, the middle· 

rib slig tly stronger, other nervation much · 

joined r sometimes running to the lateral 

lobes. 

The s ecimens from Creede that are hert:Y 

figured ave been the basis of. a good deal of 

study a d not a lit.tle speculation. It was. 

early r cogniz~d that they were certainly 

identical ·with the Hedera marginata of Lesquereux, bu't the question of their relationship· 

was mu h in doubt. It seemed improbable, 

that the were correctly referred to Hedera;·-

in fact, Lesquereux expressed the opinion 

when th species was first described that he 

knew " othing to which this leaf may be' 

related,' and others have expressed the same· 

uncerta· ty. It was. not until the specimen 

with the leaflets attached was discovered that 

.the a:ffin ty of this form was suspected. This 

specime (fig. 7) has one leaflet complete and 

the base of the other two, together with. the 

perfect · etiole. The best leaflet is ·10 millimeters l ng and 7 or 8 millimeters broad. The 

spread o the whole leaf should be· about 22 

millimet rs; the length of the petiole is 8 millimeters. The best preserved leaflet has three 

teeth on the lower side and two on the upper 

side. T e terminal leaflet has . only the obtusely w dge-shaped basal portion preserved. 

Anoth r well-preserved leaflet is the one' 

shown in figure 9. It is slightly larger than the. 

one just escribed, being· about 18 millimeters 

long an 17 millimeters wide. It has large' 

spine-tip ed teeth and in size, teeth, and n<~rvation c osely resembles the type of Hedera. 

marginat . Still larger, but so fragmentary 

that-it c n· not be accurately measured, is the 

one seen in figure. 10. This has the nervation 

well pres rved and also the spine on one of the 

teeth. he largest specimen-figure 8-is 

nearly erfect. It is oblique and slightly 

heart-sh ed at the base and has the usual 

strong · te th and the characteristic nervation. 

Its lengt is about 28 millimeters and its width 

about 30 millimeters. 

The ge us Odostemon Rafinesque (Mahonia 

of .N utta l; ·Berberis section Mahonia of authors) co prises about 20 species in central 

Asia,· Ch a,. North America, and adjacent 

Mexico. They are unarmed shrubs with pin-
190 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

nately compound spinose-toothed evergreen 

leaves. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Grande, near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

Odostemon hakeaefolia (Lesquereux) Knowlton, n. comb. 

Plate XLIII, :figures 1-6. 

Lomatia hakeaefolia Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous and Tertiary floras), p. 166, 

pl. 32, :fig. 19, 1883. . 

Lomatites haekaefolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell, Am. Mus. 

Nat. Hist. BulL , vol. 24, p. 89, 1908. 

Knowlton, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 51, p. 267, pl. 

26, :figs. 1, 2, 1916. 

Carduus jlorissantensis Cockerell, Torrey Bot. Club Bull., 

vol. 33, p. 311, text :fig. 6, 1906. 

'?Odostemon }lorissantensis Cockerell, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

Bull., vol. 24, p. 91, 1908. 

The leaves of Odostemon are pinnate, and it 

is assumed that the leaves of the present fossil 

species were similarly arranged, but as none 

have thus far been found attached it is impossible to be certain. The leaflets, if this has 

been correctly interpreted, were closely sessile, 

with an obtusely wedge-shaped or nearly truncate base and slender, sharp-pointed apex. 

They are lanceolate in general outline, with 

usually three teeth on each side; these teeth are 

separated by rounded sinuses and are spinous 

tipped, as is the apical lobe. The nervation 

consists of a relatively strong midrib and a 

rather loose network of veins that supply the 

sev.erallobes. The leaflets are evidently thick 

· and coriaceous in texture and have the margin 

all around thickened as if bound with a cord, 

precisely as in the living species. The length 

varies between 2 and 4 centimeters and the 

width between 1 and 2 centimeters. Some of 

the specimens, perhaps the majority, are broadest at the base, and others are broadest between the points of the upper lobes. 

If my assumption is correct, as it is now be-' 

lieved to be, this species was first described 

under the name Lomatia hakeaefolia Lesquereux 7 from material collected in the Florissant 

lake beds. It was based on a single specimen 

about 5 centimeters· long and 2.5 centimeters 

wide. It has four teeth or lobes on each side 

and no trace of nervation .except a strong . 

midrib. 

1 Lesquereux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey Terr. Rept., vol. 8 (Cretaceous 

and Tertiary floras), p. 166, pl. 32, fig. 19, 1883. 

Lesquereux states that his Lomatia hakeaefolia he regards as closely related tohisLomatia 

spinosa, which was described 8 at the same 

time. L. spinosa was also based on a single 

specimen about 8 centimeters long and 2.5 

centimeters wide and differs from · L. hakeae-

.folia in being deeply cut into very large, sharppointed lobes. The apical portion especially is 

drawn out into a long, slender point. There is 

no nervation preserved except a short . basal 

portion of the midrib. 

These two species are certainly congeneric 

and probably conspecifi.c. Additional examples of Lesquereux's Lomatia hakeaefolia have 

been procured at Florissant by Cockerell, 

Knowlton, and others. The leaves figured in 

my recent paper 9 on the Florissant plants are 

undoubtedly identical with L. hakeaefolia; · 

and L. spinosa of Lesquereux is only an elongated, narrow, stronger-toothed form. It is 

comparable, for instance, to the specimen 

shown in figure 1 except trs regards size, the 

latter being only about half as long. 

The leaf described by Cockerell10 as Oarduus . 

fiorissantensis undoubtedly belongs here, being indistinguishable from figure 1. The 

thickened margin and peculiar arched veins 

more or less parallel to the midrib he describes 

are characters of Odostemon. 

Cockerell11 also described as Odostemon fiorissantensis a leaflet from Florissant that probably belongs with Odostemon hakeaefolia. It 

was not figured but is said to be similar to 

Odostemon simplex (Newberry) Cockerell (Berberis simplex Newberry), from the upper 

Eocene of Bridge Creek, Oreg., except that the 

"inferior basal angle is produced into a tooth, 

so that the truncate base of the leaf is greatly 

broadened." It is about 4.2 centimeters long 

and 4.8 centimeters wide and has three teeth 

on each side, "not counting the base." This_ 

.seems to fit the description of Odostemon 

hakeaefolia, and therefore Cockerell's form has 

been referred to that species. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Gt-ande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

s Lesquereux, Leo, op. cit., p. 166, pl. 43, fig. 1. 

v Knowlton, F. H., U.S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 51, p. 267, pl. 26, figs. 

1, 2, 1916. 

10 Cockerell, T. D. A., Torrey Bot. Club Bull., vol. 33, p. 311, text 

fig. 6, 1906. 

n Cockerell, T. D. A., Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull., vol. 24, p. 91, 1908. 
FOSSIL PLANTS OF SOUTH -CENTRAL COLORADO. 191 

Sterculia aceroides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLIII, figure 12. 

Leaf small, semicoriaceous in texture, rounded and truncate at the base, three-lobed, the 

· central lobe apparently much the longest and 

strongest (broken), lateral lobes short, acute, 

at an angle of about 45°; nervation obscure, 

except for the very strong midrib and the 

much lighter lateral ribs. which arise near the 

base of the blade. 

This little leaf, the only one seen in the 

collection, has the basal portion well preserved, 

but the evidently large central lobe is broken. 

The distance between the tips of the lateral 

lobes is about 3.5 centimeters. 

Two species of Sterculia have been described 

from material found in the Florissant lake 

beds-Sterculia rigida Lesquereux 12 and S. 

engleri Kirchner. 13 These species are of the 

same type, about the only difference being in 

size; they shouid probably be combined. 

· The present form differs from the Florissant 

forms in being rounded and full ·instead of 

wedge-shaped at the base and in having relatively shorter lateral lobes. The central lobe, 

to judge from the ve~y strong midrib, was 

probably very long a~d slender. The nervation, except for the three ribs, is practically 

obsolete. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio. Grande. near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

·colo. 

Phyllites sp. 

Plate XLIII, figure 15. 

Leaf minute, delicate in texture, obovate, 

rounded at the apex, long ridge-shaped at the 

base~ apparently short petioled; margin entire; 

nervation very delicate, consisting of a straight 

midrib and about three pairs of thin secondaries 

that pass up for a considerable distance; finer 

nervation obsolete. · 

This little leaf or leaflet, the only one observed in the collection, is about 7 millimeters long and 5 millimeters broad. It was 

r.pparently sessile, or nearly t:o. 

I have hesitated to assign this leaf to a definite genus, as it is so nondescript that it is 

12 Lesquercux, Leo, U.S. Geol. Survey'Terr. Rept., .;ol. 8 (Cretaceous 

and TP'.'tiary floras), p. 179, pl. 34, fig. 12, 1883. 

1a Kirchner, W. C. G., St. Louis Acad. Sci. Trans., vol. 8, p. 180, pl. 14, 

fig. 3, 1898. 

hard to place with any degree of reasonableness. It resembles a number of described 

forms, such as Oelastrus murchisoni Heer, 14 

from the Swiss Miocene, though it is much 

smaller. It is also similar to certain leaflets 

that have been ·called Leguminosites, but 

conjectures as to its affinity would hardly' 

serve any useful end. 

Occurrence: Creede fonnation, north bank 

of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede 

Colo. 

Phyllites sp. 

Plate XLIII, figure 13. 

In the collections from Creede I find the 

little leaf her~ figured, which with its counterpart is the only one noted. It is small, about 

18 millimeters long and 9 millimeters broad, 

ovate, somewhat decurrent at the base, and 

moderately pointed at the apex. The margin 

has about four relatively large, sharp-pointed 

teeth on each side. The nervationis very light, 

consisting of a straight midrib and four pairs 

of thin, opposite secondaries, which end m 

the teeth. 

It is so difficult, not· t'o say impossible, to 

place this-little leaf in the correct genus that 

it has been ref~rred without specific name to 

the nondescript genus Phyllites. 

Occurrence: Creede formation, north bank 

of Rio Grande near Sevenmile Bridge, Creede, 

Colo. 

. Phyllites potentilloides Knowlton, n. sp. 

Plate XLIII, figure 14. 

The material from Lake Santa Maria includes 

the single example figured, which appears to 

be a small compound leaf with at least seven 

leaflets. The terminal leaflet is deeply cut 

into three lanceolate segments, the margins 

of which are provided with rather remote, 

sharp teeth. The lower leaflets are sessile or 

nearly so, lanceolate-acuminate, with sharply 

toothed margins. The nervation consists of 

a very strong midrib and a few secondaries 

that seerri to enter the teeth. The whole leaf 

is about 5 centimeters long, and the lower 

leaflets are . 1.5 to 2 centimeters long and 0.5 

centimeter wide. 

.H Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 3, pl. 121, fig. 6, 1859. 
192 

· · This spooimeh is so well preserved that seem-

. ingly it should not be difficult to place generically,' but nevertheless its generic reference is 

uncertain . . It resembles a number of things, 

particularly certain pinnate-leaved species . of 

Potentilla, such as P. hippiana Lehmann, but 

there are features that do not agree, an·d rather 

•' 

th~n make a \Vrbrig g~neri6[' :rgre}eti:ce I think 

best to place it,: atjleastitemporarily, inPhyUites. 

It ~as be~n g~v~A fSp~e¢~ . ~ame: t~~~ SlJ,ggests 

its resembLaqce to.Potentilla. r· . •• , 

Occurrence { :H:u'erto:. foxm~tion, . north end 

of Lake San ta)4ar~, 1 9~:q. c~is~~~.a.l, q-q~~r~ngle, Colo. t' . l 

i ., ;-, __ ' ll.: ,. ,· .. 

•. ' l , I ,' 

I J • '_f ' • • ~ ·, ·;! 

. ) •; ,. 

I' I I • ~ ~I ., 

i. ; 

'!·_. j 

, ... J.,, I,'{: ' 

~ , ) 1 , • ~ 'j r 

: l,r .,. ~' ' 1 ~- ;.... 

J' ' ; 'l • I • 

( . ~ ... • • ....1 .i i f .. ! . i . 

, , l 1 f ~ • ' 

, ' • .,.; ) • i j j I ' '~ ~ • 

.. • r .·. ' . 

• ;-< , ... ;·\ •. ' . \. 

: J 

! .. ~ 

,' l '·'.'. •'(' • ,f 

'_. ;•,'f•, )~ , .' :' t. tf\. 1 , I .. , ; , I 

,'I' 

• I' 

'• 
I. 

I · !:: .. 

t . 

S iXLi--· XLIV. -· 

, I i • .[ 

. '- ~~~ · ~- ~· ... 

) 
PLATE XLI. 

Page. 

FIGURES 1, 2, 4, 5. Abies rigida Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalog 

No3. 36505, 36507, 36508, 36509 ................ _, __ .............. _ ..• _ .. _____ .•...... 186 

6. P(;tus coloradensis Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat Mus. 

catalog No. 36506 . . ............. ......... ................ _ ................... _....... 186 

7. Pinus jlorissanti? Lesquereux, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

catalog No. 36510 .....•..... _... ........................................... .. ........ 186 

3, 8-10. Pinus crossii Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalog 

Nos. 36511, 36512, 36513, 36514 .................... . . . . . ... -........................... 185 

11, 12. Pinus similis Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalog. 

Nos. 36515, 3651G ...................... ·............................. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 

194 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XLI 

8 

6 

1 

9 

7 

11 

3 

10 

4 5 12 

FOSSIL PLANTS FROM THE TERTIARY LAKE BEDS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XLII 

4 

1 

3 

5 

6 

2 

7 

8 

FOSSIL PLANTS FROM THE TERTIARY LAKE BEDS OF. SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO. 
FmunEs 1, 2. A~:.~~~;~'; ~o~l~n, frolll ;;~;;~:. + C;reede,_ ~olo: .. ~- S: _Nat: ~UB: eaffi]og 

3. Az~u;: ~~~~e~~~~~~~t~~-'-~~-~~~~~~ _£~~~~~~~: -~~~~ -r-e_e_~~'- ~~~~-- _ -~~ -~·- ~~t_. -~:~s_. -~~~~~~-~~~ 

4. vi;~~;~. ~;;~t~~~~ -~~~~~~~~1-, ~~~ -~~~~~~-£~~~~~~~' .. ~r~ -~~~~~~~ -~~1~_. __ ~-- ~: -~~:~ ~~~: _c_a_t~~~~ 5-9. Ribes protomelaenum Cockerell, from Creede formatitn, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

catalog Nos. 36521, 36522~ 36523, 36524, 36525 .............................. ·.---. ~ .. -- ..... . 

Page. 

187 

188 

18!) 

ISS 

• 195 
PLATE XLIII. 

Page. 

FIGURES 1-6. Odostemon hakeaejolia (Lesquereux) Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. catalog Nos. 36526, 36527, 36528, 36529, 36530, 36531.............................. 190 

7-10. Odostemon marginata (Lesquereux) Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. catalog Nos. 36532, 36533, 36534, 36535 ........................... ·_.............. 189 

11. Rubus? inquirendus Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U.S. Nat. Mus. catalog 

No. 365.36 .......................... · ........................... ~..................... ... . . . . 188 

12. Sterculia aceroides Knowlton, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalog 

No. 36537 .................................................. ~. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 

13. Phyllites sp., from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. c~talog No. 36538. . . . . . 191 

14. Phyllites potentilloides Knowlton, from Huerto formation, north end or Lake Santa Maria, San 

Cristobal quadrangle, Colo. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalog No. 36539 .......... ~ ................. ~. 191 

15. J::.hyllites sp., from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U.S. Nat. Mus. catal~g No. 36540.... 191 

16,17. Planera myricaejolia (Lesquereux) Cockerell, from Creede formation, near Creede, Colo. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. catalog Nos. 36541, 36542 ............................... ~................ ........ 188 

196 

. I 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XLIII 

3 

1 2 

4 5 7 6 

9 10 11 

8 

13 

12 

14 15 16 17 

FOSSIL PLANTS FROM THE TERTIARY LAKE BEDS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO. 
U, S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XLIV 

FOSSIL PLANT FROM THE TERTIARY LAKE BEDS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO. 
, 

r 

PLATE XLIV. 

_Populus l~squereuxi Cockerell, from Creede formation, near C:r.:eede, Colo. U.S. Nat. Mus. catalog No. 36543----

197 

Page. 

187 

·'