SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA 'oF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

By EDWARD WILBER BERRY. 

A rather full account of the extensive flora 

contained in the lower Eocene strata of the 

Mississippi embayment which are referred to 

the Wilcox group was published in 1916.1 At 

that time it was not possible to obtain sections 

of the numerous specimens of petrified wood 

that had been collected from these beds. 

These woods have since been sectioned and 

studied, and it seems eminently desirable to 

place the results of this study on record, for 

although much of ,the material had suffered 

greatly from decay before silicification, some 

of it is fairly well preserved and shows, among 

other results, that conifers were individually 

much more plentiful during Wilcox time than 

would be inferred from t4e almost total absence of their foliage in the very large collections of remains of this class that have been 

studied. 

Moreover, these coniferous woods show wellmarked seasonal rings, indicating periodicity 

in the climate, which can be explained as due 

either to severity of winters or to a seasonal 

rainfall and· a regularly recurring dry season. 

As the facies of the flora appears to preclude 

the first alternative, the second would seem 

established, except that the general eharacter 

of the flqra is equally opposed to this alternative. As · both the · pines and the · bald 

· cypress in the existing flora at their sout}lern 

limit. in peninsular Florida show annual rings, 

it seems to me that a somewhat similar winter 

season must be predicated for the Wilco~. 

This does not mean annual snow or frost, although freezes may have occurred at intervals 

of years. Severity is a relative term, and I . 

would not expect the Wilcox climate, even at 

the north end of the embayment, near the 

1 Berry, E·. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, 1916. 

present mouth of the Ohio, to have been any 

more severe ·during the winter than the present 

climate, for example, of Fort Pierce, in the 

southern Indian River region of peninsular 

Florida. This conclusion ·. is practically the 

same as that arrived at in the previous analysis 

of the Wilcox flora. 

Very little has heretofore been known of the 

.Wilcox flora in the Texas area. In Professional Paper 91 Wilcox plants were recorded 

from only three localities in Texas, and two of 

these-Old Port Caddo Landing, in Harrison 

County; and Sabine River in Sabine Countyare in the extreme eastern part of the State .. 

The third and westernmost locality from which 

Wilcox plants had been recorded is on Calaveras 

Creek in Wilson County. That the lack of 

fossils from the Wilcox in the region between 

San Antonio and the Rio Grande . was due entirely to lack of exploration was shown by a 

short trip through this region during 1921. 

Although fossil plants are not so common there 

as farther east, because the upper Wilcox, 

which alone crops out, contains a large propor-· 

tion of sandy beds, long ago recognized as the 

Carrizo sandstone, several collections were 

obtained. The age of the Carrizo sandstone 

has heretofore been somewhat uncertain. Referred originally to the Wilcox, it has been 

considered to be of Claiborne age by several 

Texas geologists. The plants found in the 

Carrizo sandstone, as well as those found both 

above and below it near the Rio Grande, 

definitely settle its upper Wilcox age. These 

will be discussed on a subsequent page. 

In addition, a few collections have been sent 

to me from time to time from new localities, and 

I am particularly indebted to Mr. 0. M. Ball for 

a large collection obtained near Mansfield, La. 

I 
2 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

In ProfessiOnal Faper 91 I recorded 342 

species of plants from the Wilcox. In Professional Paper 108-E, published in 1917, species 

of Zamia and Nelumbo were added. The 

present contribution includes additional plants, 

but as a number of supposed species of Ficus 

are now reduced to synonymy, the total additions amount to 9, making 353 as the number of 

species now recognized in the Wilcox flora. 

The descriptions in the present paper include 

both lauraceous and sterculiaceous woods, 

also strikingly ,well preserved and characteristic lauraceous fruits. Other novelties are 

a · liverwort ( Marchantites ,) the fern genus 

Dryopteris, palm nuts, the genus Monocarpellites (which helps to prove that the lignites of 

Brandon, Vt., are Eocene and not Miocene), 

an interesting fruit of the otherwise unrepresented family Icacinaceae, and a second 

·which is referred with some· hesitation to the 

family Anacardiaceae. 

The upper Wilcox plant-bearing bed in the 

Grenada formation near Grenada, Grenada 

County, Miss., is at the southernmost point at 

·which determinable fossil plants had been found 

in the Wilcox in the eastern Gulf area. Much 

interest therefore attaches to a small collection 

made recently in southern Alabama by C. W. 

Cooke and J. A. Gardner. Th~ exact locality 

is at the wagon bridge on Claybank Creek 1 

mile west of Clayhatchee, Dale County. This 

is about 300 miles southeast of Grenada and 

east of the typical localities of marine Wilcox 

beds. The matrix is a sandy brown clay, and 

the contained leaves are poor and fragmentary. 

Representatives of four different species, are 

recognizable, although but 'one of these is 

determinable, and' this represents a perfect 

leaflet of Mimosites variabilis Berry. 

The following species are recorded from the 

Spinks pit, near Paris, Henry County, Tenn. 

The specimens occur in a gray plastic clay from 

which the entire leaves can be washed and 

mounted in balsam between glass, thus forming 

very exceptional specimens: 

Monocarpellites perkinsi Berry. 

N ectandra glenni Berry. 

Oreodaphne salinensis Berry. 

Sapindus mississippiensis Berry. 

Sabalites grayanus Lesquereux. 

Oreodaphne puryearensis Berry. 

At the time of publication of Professional 

Paper 91 the collections obtained 4 miles southwest of Boydsville, Ark., were lost, and as they 

had only received a preliminary study the list 

of species from that locality was very incomplete. These collections have since .received 

careful study, which has shown that Ficus 

denveriana should be omitted from this ·florule 

and that the following species should be added: 

Anacardites puryearensis Berry. 

Apocynophyllum mississippiensis Berry. 

Apocynophyllum wilcoxense Berry. 

Ci:imamomum oblongatum Berry. 

Coccolobis uviferafolia Berry. 

Cyperacites sp. 

Engelhardtia ettingshauseni Berry. 

Ficus missiesippiensis (Lesquereux) Berry. 

Ficus pseudocuspidata Berry. · 

Ficus puryearensis Berry. 

Hiraea wilcoxiana Berry. 

Juglans schimperi Lesquereux. 

Magnolia leei Knowlton. 

Myrcia vera Berry. 

Nectandra puryearensis Berry. 

Oreodaphne mississippiem!s Berry. 

Palmocarpon butlerensis Berry. 

Sapindus mississippiensis Berry. 

Ternstroemites eoligniticus Berry. 

These all serve to emphasize the late Wilcox 

age of the Boydsville florule. 

At a locality near Jacksonville, in Pulaski 

County, Ark., L. W. Stephenson collected the 

following species) which prove the outcrop to 

be of upper Wilcox age: 

Celastrus taurinensis Ward. 

Cordia? lowii Berry? 

Dillenites microdentatus (Hollick) Berry. 

Euonymus splendens Berry. 

Ficus harrisiana Hollick. 

Marchantites stephensoni Berry. 

Nectandra cf. N. glenni Berry. 

Nectandra sp. 

Oreodaphne obtusifolia Berry. 

In .material from a gray plastic clay at 304 

to 319 feet below the surface in a well at 

Negreet, 9 miles southwest of Many, Sabine 

Parish, La., I recognized the tw9 following 

Wilcox species: 

Pteris pseudopinnaeformis Lesquereux. 

Simaruba eocenica Berry. 

The following are additions to the flora from The following plants were c.ollected by 0. M. 

a locality 1 mile south of Grand Junction, Ball at the Goss pit, half a mile east of MarrsTenn .. : · field, De So to Parish)· La. : 
ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA' OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

Apocynophyllum mississippiensis Berry. 

Artocarpoides balli Berry. 

Bombacites formosus Berry. 

Piospyros wilcoxiana Berry. 

Dryopteris cladophleboides Knowlton. 

Dryophyllum sp. 

Euonymus splendens Berry. 

Ficus artocarpoides Lesquereux. 

Ficus mississippiensis (Lesquereux) Berry. 

Inga laurinafolia Berry. 

Juglans schimperi Lesquereux. 

Laurus veraBerry. 

Magnolia angustifolia Newberry. 

Magnolia leei Knowlton. 

Metopium wilcoxianum Ferry. 

Oreodaphne salinensis Berry. 

Rhamnus eoligniticus Berry. 

Rhamnus marginatus Lesquereux. 

Rhamnus marginatus apiculatus Berry. ' 

Rhamuites knowltoni Berry. 

Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry. 

Sterculiocarpus eoceci,cus Berry. 

Terminalia hilgardiana (Lesquereux) Berry. 

Terminalia lesleyana (Lesquereux) Berry. 

The following were contained in a collection 

from a locality 10 miles south-southwest of 

Palestine, Anderson County, Tex., in Post Oak 

Prairie, 2 miles south of Needmore (collectors, 

0. B. Hopkins and 0. C. Funderbunk): 

Canavalia eocenica Berry? 

Lygodium binervatum (Lesquereux) Berry. 

N ectandra pseudocoriacea Berry? 

The following were sent in by the last-named 

collectors from the Butler (or West Point) 

salt dome, in the eastern part of Freestone, 

County, near Trinity River, 6 miles northeast 

of Oakville, Tex.: 

Mespilodaphne coushatta Berry? 

Palmocarpon butlerensis Berry. 

Proteoides w:ilcoxensis Berry. 

Sophora repandifolia Berry? 

Calatoloides eocenicum Berry. 

The following localities in central and southwestern Texas· deserve some special comment, 

as no collections have heretofore been made 

from them and they show conclusively that 

the Carrizo sandstone is of upper Wilcox age, 

hut that it is in the nature of a lens which 

becomes thinner toward the Rio Grande, where 

its upper part is replaced by more typical 

and more argillaceous Wilcox beds that als<;> 

carry characteristic fossil plants. 1 

Fossil plants were reported by Baker from 

the Elmendorf clay pit, south of San Antonio, 

in Bexar County. This pit was not being 

worked in 1921 and was partly full of wate , 

I 

about 25 feet of grayish laminated sandy clay 

with local more argillaceous and darker lenses· 

carrying leaves being all that was exposed. 

These leaves were poorly preserved, and the 

I 

only. species recognized are Fic1ts miss,issippiensis (Lesquereux) Berry, Nectandra sp., and 

· Sapindus linearifolius Berry. The manager 

of the Elmendorf plant informed me that the 

clay formerly mined came from the flooded 

part of the pit and was· full of impressions of 

leaves. 

The Wilcox is well exposed along N ueces 

River in Zavalla County. Fossil plants were 

collected from the right bank 1 mile below the 

Pulliam ranch house. The following species 

are represented: 

Anona ampla Berry. 

Anona eolignitica Berry. 

Cyperites sp. Hollick. 

Oreodaphne obtusifolia Berry. 

Sabalites grayanus Lesquereux. 

Sapindus linearifolius Berry. 

Sandy lenses contain many Sabalites, some of 

large size.. One rachis of this species observed 

was 2! inches in diameter at one end and 4 

inches at the other. ,These species indicate a 

late Wilcox age and show the transgressive 

character of the beds, as. the Midway appears to 

be absent on the Nueces, the Wilcox resting on 

the Cretaceous and not far above the conspicuous reef of Ostrea cortex just above the 

San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf Railroad bridge. 

From Story's ranch to La Pryor crossing 

there is a long exposure of typical Wilcox beds, 

especially along the left bank of the N ueces for 

about 2 ·miles above the crossing. Fossil 

plants are abundant but so poorly preserved 

that no collections were made, although several 

Wilcox species were recognized. 

From the crossing southward the Carrizo 

sandstone is exposed. At an outcrop in a 

deep arroyo along the)eft bank It miles south 

of the crossing there is an exposure of about 30 

feet of buff heavily bedded and prominently 

cross-bedded sand. At the base .of this sand 

3 to 4 feet of a small brownish clay lens is 

visible. This lens, which is stratigraphically 

above the ferruginous quartzite sand exposed 

at the crossing, is full of leaves. The following species, which indicate upper Wilcox age, 

were c<1llected : 

Banksi~ puryearensis Berry. 

Eugenia grenadensis Berry. 
4 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Gleditsiophyllum eocenicum Berry. 

Mespilodaphne coushatta Berry. 

Myrcia vera Berry. 

Persea longipetiolatum (Hollick) Berry. 

Sabalites grayanus Lesquereux. 

The type exposure of the Carrizo sandstone 

is· in the quarries about half a mile west of 

Carrizo Springs, in Dimmit County. This, as 

well as the numerous other exposures of 

Carrizo and other Wilcox deposits in southwestern Texas, will be described in detail in 

A. C. Trowbridge's report on this region. 

From the Carrizo sandstone at the type locality the following species were collected: 

Acrostichum sp. 

Anona ampla Berry. 

· Anona wilcoxiana Berry. 

\Janavalia eocenica Berry? 

Cassia tennesseensis Berry. 

Cinnamomum vera Berry? 

Dryophyllum tennesseensis Berry? 

Ficus mississippiensis (Lesquereux) Berry. 

N ectandra pseudocoriacea Berry. 

Oreodaphne obtusifolia Berry. 

Oreodaphne puryearensis Berry. 

Palmocarpon butlerensis Berry. 

Pterobalanus texan us Berry. 

Sabalites grayanus Lesquereux. 

Sophora wilcoxiana Berry. 

Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry. 

The foregoing list represents a typical upper 

Wilcox flora. Fragments of leaves are not at 

all uncommon in the hard sandstones of the 

Carrizo and were observed at a considerable 

number of additional outcrops, but the hardness of the material rendered collecting diffi.-

. cult, and the ·coarseness of the matrix, which 

obliterated the venation, made .the determinations inconclusive. Nowhere, however, did 

th.ese fragments suggest Claiborne forms, but 

all were believed to represent well-known upper Wilcox specie·s. 

Near the Rio Grande the Carrizo sandstone 

becomes thin and is overlain by beds showillg 

more typical Wilcox lithology. A section on 

Concillas Creek a quarter of a mile above its 

mouth, in Webb C~mnty, exposes the following 

materials: 

Sandstone. 

Brownish laminated clay with leaves. 

Local unconformity. 

Ripple-marked sandstone. 

Clay parting. 

Sandstone with sticks and leaf fragments. 

Gray clay. 

From the brownish clay above the local un- · 

conformity, not far below the Wilcox-Mount 

Selman contact, the following plants were 

collected: · 

Anacardites grevilleafolia Berry. 

Banksia !mryearensis Berry. 

Cassia marshallensis Berry. 

Cyperites sp. Hollick. 

Inga wickliffensis Berry? 

juglans schimperi Lesquereux. 

Mimosites variabilis Berry. 

Mimusops mississippiensis Berry. 

Myrica wilcoxensis Berry. 

Sabalites grayanus Lesquereux. 

Sophora wilcoxiana Berry. 

From the sandstone two excellent specimens of Oanna eocenica Berry were collected. 

The whole section is clearly upper Wilcox in 

age. · 

From Elm Creek on the Schuddemagen 

ranch, in eastern Uvalde County, considerably 

above the Cretaceous-Midway contact described by Stephenson, 2 a single specimen of 

Rhamnus co1.tShatta Berry was collected. This 

is a typical upper Wilcox form and suggests 

that the Midway is unusp.ally thin in this section, which is in conformity with its entire absence on the N ueces. 

A systematic account of the new or noteworthy species of plants that have been added 

to the flo~a of the Wilcox group and are discussed m the present contribution is given 

below. 

Phylum BRYOPHYTA. 

Class HEPATICAE . 

Order MARCHANTIALES. 

Genus MARCHANTITES Brongniart. 

Marchantites stephensoni Berry, n. sp. 

Plate IV, figure 1. . . 

Plant body thallose, consisting of a linear, 

repeatedly dichotomously forked thallus thickened medianly and with somewhat irregularly 

placed oblique and transverse markings, believed to represent appressed rhizoids. 

The material is scanty and of slight botanic 

importance. Except that the margins are 

.straighter the present form is indistinguishable 

from Marchantia sezannensis Brongniart, 3 from 

2 Stephenson, L. W., U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 90, p. 177, 1915. 

a Saporta, G. de, Prodrome d'une fl.ore fossile des travertins anciens 

de Sezanne, p. 308, pl. 1, figs. 1-8, 1868. 
ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE WI~COX GROUP. 5 

the Paleocene of France, which· has the distinction of having the receptacles preserveq 

and therefore being conclusively identified. 

The present form is also much like Marchantia 

pealei Knowlton, 4 of the Fort Union formation 

of Montana. 

Thalloid liverworts are so rarely found in 

the geologic record that any of them are noteworthy. · Similar remains are -recorded from 

several Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous outcrops- both in this country and abroad, and 

several Eocene and Oligocene species have 

been described. 

The present species is named for the collector and comes from the· upper Wilcox deposits near Jacksonville, Pulaski County, Ark. 

Phylum PTERIDOPHYTA. 

Class LEPTOSPORANGIATAE. 

Order POLYPODIALES. 

Family POLYPODIACEAE 

Genus DRYOPTERIS Adamson. 

Dryopteris cladophleboides Knowlton. 

Plate IV, figures 5-7. 

and the pinnules are about 1 centimeter in 

length by about 4 millimeters in width at their 

base. There .is in the collection, however, a 

tiny specimen showing about 5 millimeters of 

a similar rachis with the impression of four 

.stout pinnules. These are , slightly smaller 

than the sterile pinnules but have the same 

form and confluent bases; the midribs are 

stout; the lateral veins are thin and fewer than 

in the sterile pinnules; about halfway between 

the . midrib and the m~rgin each lateral shows 

the impression of a small; approximately circular and prominent sorus, and these decrease in 

si~e distad; there _are about six prominent 

ones in each half of the lamina. Several of the 

proximal laterals are seen to be forked beyond 

the sori, but the majority appear to be simple. 

Although these fertile pinnules are not in 

organic union with the sterile parts of the 

frond, their association in a thin stratum at the 

same outcrop and the further fact that no similar species are known in the whole Wilcox flora 

make it seem very probable that both belong 

to the same form, and this conclusion is corroborated by their form and attitude, similar 

rachis, similar midrib, and lateral veins. 

Dryopteris? cladophleboides Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey The type ~aterial of this species, described 

Prof. Paper 101, P· 284, pl. 54, fig. 1' 1918· by Knowlton, came from the Raton formation 

Frond pinnate or bipinnate. Pinnae long, of southeastern Colorado. It was very incomlinear-lanceolate, divided nearly or qu te to plete, with the venation obscured. There 

the rachis into numerous ovate-lane olate, seems to be no doubt, however, that the Wilcox 

oblong, or conical obtuse or acutely p inted occurrence represents the same, species, a type 

pinnules, with entire margins. Texture coria- of fern hitherto unknown in the Wilcox flora, in 

ceous. Rachis. stout, channeled. Mid ib of which ferns are unusually scarce. 

pinni.Iles stout, diverging from the rae is at Both the sterile and fertile pinnules are simiangles of about 65° to 70°, .curving sl ghtly lar to those of certain species of Alsophila and 

upward distad, its course throughout ne rer to Oyathea, and they are practically identical with 

the proximal margin of the pinnule. The- a number of existing species of Dryopteris, as 

lateral veins are thin and closely spaced they for example Dryopteris concinnum Mettenius, 

diverge at wide angles and number ab ut 16 D. molle ·Swartz, and D. pteroides Swartz. I 

pairs. Those in the tip of the pinnu e are can see no reason for questioning their reference 

simple; the majority are once forked; s veral to Dryopteris. 

basal pairs, particularly on the proxim l side The genus Dryopteris is a large one in the 

of the pinna, pass from a 'single latera with modern flora, with more than 1,000 species 

two simple branches to a lateral wit two variously segregated or aggregated by students 

dichotomous forks, as shown in the a com- of existing ferns in the genera Lastrea, Nephropanying figure. There is some variation n the dium, Phegopteris, lfolybotrya, and Dryopteris. 

shap~ an~ degree of separation of the pin ules. Christensen 5 unite~ them all in a single genus 

The specimens are five in number, and none divided into 10 su~genera, many of which are 

are especially complete. All are sterile. The entitled to generic tank, as I have pointed out 

pinnae were at least 10 centimeters in I ngth, several times in dekcribing Tertiary species of -----------------------------------~-- ---------------- ----------------------- 4 Knowlton, F. H., U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 35, pp. 157-15 , pl. 25, 5 Christensen, C., On anatu:Jal classification of the species ofDryopteris: 

1908. SaertrykafBiologiskeArbeij erTilegnedeE. Warming,pp. 73-85, 1911. 
, I 

6 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Goniopteris, of which there is a very characteristic form in the Claiborne. 6 The dryopterids are 

widely distributed and mainly tropical, although 

Christensen's subgenus Eudryopteris, with about 

100 species, is largely confined to the North 

Temperate Zone. , 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

Genus ACROSTICHUM Linne. 

Acrostichum sp. 

This characteristic fern genus is represented 

in the Wilcox by a single fragment, too small 

for determination or description but showing 

the areolation of this genus. It is a strand 

type well represented in the Claiborne, Jackson, and Catahoula of the embayment aren,, 

and its unaccountable absence among the 

strand types in the Wilcox was the occasion 

for comment in the former discussions of th:is 

flora. The present fragment adds this interesting type to the _Wilcox flora and raises 

the number of fern species known in this 

flora to eight. 

Occurrence: Carrizo sandstone, half a mile 

west of Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County, Tex. 

Phylum CONIFEROPHYTA. 

Order PIN ALES. 

Family TAXODIACEAE. 

Genus CUPRESSINOXYLON Goeppert. 

[Monographie der fossilen Coniferen, p. 196, 1850.] 

Coniferous wood composed of tracheids and xylem parenchyma only. In the tracheid walls the pits are generally 

round, bordered, and isolated, in one row; if in two rows 

the pits stand in adjacent pairs and are not alternating or 

compressed. Sanio's rims often conspicuous. Normal 

resin canals entirely absent. Resin containing xylem 

parenchyma present, generally in large quantities, and 

. scattered all through the wood:;' Medullary rays uniseriate; a few may be partly biseriate. The cells of the rays 

all alike, generally smooth-walled, and without ~bietinean 

pitting (which is present in a few species); pits in the radial 

walls of the rays generally circular or oval, simple, small, 

and in groups of one to six, seldom more, per tracheid 

:field. 7 

Cupressinoxylon wilcoxense Berry, n. sp. 

Plates I-III. 

Trunks, many of them of large size, preresenting this species are extremely common in 

6 Berry, E. W., Torrey Bot. Club Bull., vol. 44, pp. 331-335, pl. 22, 1917. 

1 Stopes, M. C., The Cretaceous flora: British Mus. Cat., pt.2, p. 167, 

1915. 

the upper Wilcox sands of Louisiana. They 

have in general suffered much from decay before silicification, but some specimens are exceedingly well preserved. They are remarkable 

chiefly for the great variation in the width of 

the zone of spring wood and the well-marked or 

·almost complete absence of summer wood. 

Thus in the sections figured the zone of spring 

wood ranges from 5 or 6 radial rows of tracheids 

to 23 or 24 rows, while the summer wood consists of 3 or 4 rows. In other specimens, notably two (Nos. 206, 211) from the vicinity of 

N aborton, La., the spring wood consists of 45 to 

70 radial rows of tracheids of uniform size separated by two rows of summer wood in which 

the size of the tracheids or the cell lumen is so 

slightly reduced that a seasonal change is 

scarcely marked. These woods all come from 

the same horizon, and their variation can not 

be explained by the well-known differences in 

the annual rings of upland and lowland forms 

of the same species of conifers, for it is known 

that the Wilcox land surface was low, the nearest uplands at that time being in t~e Rocky 

Mountain region. It is of course possible that 

the present species extended its range westward 

through Colorado and that some .of these large 

trunks may have been brought down from the 

west by river floods, for at the present time 

Red River reaches nearly to the New Mexico 

boundary, and the headwaters of Arkansas 

River reach the foothills of the Sangre de 

Cristo Mountains and the Front Range in 

central and southern Colorado. In general the 

best-preserved material shows the narrower 

and more marked growth rings, but both types 

are found in all stages of decay, so that no 

reliable conclusions can be drawn. 

Transverse section: Growth rings feebly developed or well marked, variable in width in 

individual specimens. Spring wood of relatively large, thin-walled, mostly isodiametric 

tracheids and xylem parenchyma, the two 

elements not distinguishable in this section, 

arranged in radial rows of 5 to 70 cells, averaging 10 or 12. Cell outlines round with 

wide lumen; diameter variable for different 

radial rows but in general uniform for each 

row, ranging from 0.025 to 0.975 millimeter. 

Summer wood consisting of two to four rows of 

somewhat reduced tracheids with narrower 

lumen or -in some specrmens scarcely reduced _ 
ADDITIONS TO THE :FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 7 

or narrowed and consisting of pnly one or two they may be in juxtaposition for a short disrows of cells. tance or in double rows, either in. pairs or 

Radial section: Tracheids with one or two alternating for short distances, as shown in the 

rows of mostly well-spaced circular-bordered enlarged figure. In this section the rotted and 

pits: When in single rows the pits are some- spirally fractured walls of the tracheids are very 

what larger, and when in double rows the pits obvious, and care is necessary to distinguish 

are almost invariably in pairs, although occa- them when in this condition from normal 

sionally they may alternate for a short distance, spirally .thickened tracheids, which are not 

as in the specimen figured; usually well- present in this genus. In this section the 

spaced occasional rows are in contact, as shown cross sections of the bordered pits of the radial 

in the figure. The rims of Sanio are often walls of the tracheids often come out beautiprominently shown in the sections of the tan- fully, and they can even be seen in the figure 

gential walls. The septate xylem parenchyma enlarged but 20 times. . 

is conspicuous in this section, the partitions This well-marked species is perfectly disbeing at right angles to the walls and from , tinct from Oupressinoxylon calli, described by 

three to four times the diameter or sligp.tly Knowlton 8 from material collected in -beds of 

· farther apart, usually contain-ing more or less possible Wilcox age in Arkansas. It also 

resin. The diameter of the xylem parenchyma appears to be unlike the rather numerous deis about the same as that of the tracheids but scribed species of Oupressinoxylon from other 

may be slightly greater. It is not excessively horizons or areas. The incompleteness of 

ah1:1ndant, as in some other species of Oupres- large numbers of the descriptions of presinoxylon, nor is it generally completely filled viously known forms renders detailed comwith resin. No traumatic or other resin canals parisons futile. The distinction between the 

are observable. · Ray cells uniform in character .present species and those forms of fossil wood 

seem to be radially elongated, with a radial referred to the genus Podocarpoxylon Gothan, 

length of 1! to 2 tracheid fields and a height as amended by Stopes 9 to include, Go than's 

about one-fourth their length. End walls Podocarpoxylon and Phyllocladoxylon, aFe not 

smooth (without abietinean pitting), mostly especially obvious and rest on the size, form, 

transverse and rarely . much oblique; one or and number of the pits on the radial walls of 

more in each ray partly resiniferous; radial the ray cells, which are larger, fewer, and more 

walls with two small oval pits per tracheid eccentric in Podocarpoxylon. More recently 

-field; these pits are relatively large for this Seward 10 has proposed the form genus Mesemgenus and appear to have their · long axis brioxylon for these. These differences are all 

uniformly inclined about 40° from the vertical. relative and hardly generic in character, as a 

Tangential section: The distribution and series· of species can be s~lected which connect 

.1·elative abundance and variation in the rays the extremes. 

are well shown in the _figure of a large ·area In the present state of our knowledge of wood 

under low magnification (20 diameters). The anatomy, even among the comparatively well 

rays are uniformly uniseriate, of relatively . known group of conifers, it is not feasible to 

large, thin-walled, roundish quadrangular cells, attempt to point out the most closely allied 

one or more of which may b~ resiniferous; they existing representative of the present species. 

range in height from 2 to 17 cells and consist The genera Glyptostrobus and Taxodium are 

prevailingly of alternations of rays 2 to 4 cells represented by foliage and seeds in the Wilcox, 

high with those of rays 6 to 8 cells high. There and it may well be that this abundant wood 

are rarely four rows of tracheids .between type represents one or the other of these 

adjacent rays, the normal number being two. genera. 

The xy~em parenchyma, as in the radial sec- Occurrence: Caddo and De So to parishes, 

tions, is generally bordered ·by rays. The La. Figured specimens, northwest corner sec. 

tangential walls of the tracheids are marked 

with circular-bordered pits about one-half the 8 Knowlton, F. H., Arkansas State Geologist Ann. Rept. for 1889, 

vol. 2, p. 254, pl. 9, figs. 3-7, 1891. 

size of the pits on the radial walls. These pits 9 Stopes, M. c., The Cretaceous flora: British Mus. Cat., pt. 2, p. 210, 

1915. 

are usually in a single :row sJnd well spaced, but s ro eward, A. C .• Fossil plants, vol. 4, p. 173, 1919. 
8 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922,. 

36, a quarter of a mile south of Slaughter Pen 

BluffJ Caddo Lake (201); Shreveport (210, 269). 

Other specimens, Slaughter Pen BluffJ Caddo 

Lake (203); 6 miles southeast of N aborton (205, 

206); 4! miles southeast of Naborton (216); 4 

miles southeast of N aborton (208); 3 miles southeast of N abortori (209,211); 2-lmilessoutheastof 

N aborton (204); 1 mile southeast of N aborton 

(268); half a mile southeast of Naborton (213); 

6 miles southeast of Mansfield (270); 1! miles 

north of Mansfield (2 6 6) . 

Phylum ANGIOSPERMOPHYTA. 

Class MONOCOT.YLEDONAE. 

Order ARECALES. 

Family ARECACEAE. 

Genus PALMOCARPON Lesquereux. 

Palmocarpon butlerensis Berry, n. sp. 

Plate IV, figures 2-4. 

Fruit apparently a small, thin-fleshed ~rupe, 

in form a prolate spheroid-the long diameter 

reux are widespread in the Wilcox;, but they 

are not conclusively 'known to be related to 

Sabal. Moreover, very many modern palms 

have racemes of small fruits very similar to the 

present fossils. To mention but a few familiar 

existing species with fruits very close to the 

fossil I may cite our dwarf saw palmetto, 

Serenoa serrulata (Michaux) Hooker; the royal 

palm, Royston a regia (H. B. K.) Q~:)Ok; the 

goose-neck palmetto, Sabal etonia . Swingle; 

and the cabbage palmetto, Sabal palmetto-

(Walter) Roemer and Schultes. 

Occurrence: Butler salt dome, 6 miles north-· 

east of Oakville, Freestone County, Tex.; 4-

miles sou~hwest of Boydsville, Ark.; Carrizo 

sandstone half a mile west of Carrizo Springs,. 

Dimmit County, Tex. 

Class DICOTYLEDONAE. 

Order URTICALES. 

Family MORACEAE. 

Genus ARTOCARPOIDES Saporta. 

less than one-half greater than the short di- Artocarpoides balli Barry, n. sp. 

ameter. Varying considerably in size. Sur- PI fi ate IV, gures 8-10; Plate V .. 

face of the stone dark in color (possibly a 

secondary feature), conspicuously papillose. Leaves of variable size, ovate, with a broadly 

Hilum large. Minimum dimensions 4 by 5 rounded base, which is sometimes slightly 

millimeters; maximum 14 by 18 millimeters. inequilateral, and a narrowed and apiculate 

Abundant but generally slightly deformed. tip. Margins entire, slightly .undulate. TexSpecific name in allusion to the name of the ture subcoriaceous. Petiole invariably missing. 

salt dome from which the material was col- Midrib stout, very prominent on the lower 

lected. surface of the leaf. Secondaries stout and 

This form is very similar to Palmocarpon prominent, 9 to 15 pairs, opposite to alternate, 

truncatum, from Golden, Colo., described by approximately equally spaced and subparallel, 

Lesquereux in 1878 and supposed to have the basal one or two pairs at right angles to the· 

come from the Denver formation. There is the midrib, becoming regularly more ascending 

same ·variation in size in both, and although toward the upper part of the leaf, relatively 

Lesquereux makes the flatteni~g of the Golden straight at first, becoming curved in the mar-· 

specimens a specific character this is of doubt- ginal region and eventually camptodrome closeful validity, as he states that the specimens to the margins. Tertia:cies well marked, closely 

were generally crushed. I would have referred spaced, percurrent. Areolation well marked, 

these Wilcox fruits to Palmocarpon truncatum quadrangular. 

except for the definite and repeated statement The smallest leav~s referred to this species 

by Lesquere.ux that the Golden form was are only 4 centimeters in length and 2 centismooth, which the Wilcox form is not. In any meters in maximum width; the largest is 24 

event the two are closely ... related. Lesque- centimeters in length and 10 centimeters in 

reux 11 compared the Golden forms with the · maximum width. There are six specimens of 

fruits of the existing Sabal mexicana Martius, various sizes in the collection, and all preserve 

and similarly the Wilcox fruits may be those their specific features unchanged. The type 

of Sabal. Leaves of Sabalites grayanus Lesque- is well marked and clearly different from previously described members of the Wilcox 

flora. A species from Puryear, Tenn., was u Lesquereux, Leo, The Tertiary flora: U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. 

Rept., vol. 7, p. 120, pl. 11, figs. 6-9, 1878. 
ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

described as Artocarpoides wilcoxensis. 12 This 

was more elliptical in outline, widest medianly 

and pointed at both ends, with fewer, thinner . 

secondaries, less closely set tertiaries, and more 

<>pen areolation. · 

The genus Artocarpoides was founded · by 

Saporta for certain forms from the Paleocene 

of Sezanne, France, that he compared with the 

existing entire-:-leafed species of Artocarpus, 

which they really greatly resemble. Schenk 13 

considered them to be related to the Juglandaceae, but I fail to see any basis for this comparison. Among the French forms a considerable resemblance to the presep.t species is 

shown by Artocarpoides conocephaloidea Saporta,14 a relatively small form, and a very 

great resemblance by Protoficus sezannensis Saporta 15 and P. insignis_ Saporta. 16 Among 

existing forms of Moraceae c0nsiderable n~- · semblance is also shown by the tropical American genus Brosimum Swartz, which ranges from 

the West Indies and C~ntral America to Brazil,, 

arid the tropical American genus Goussapoa 

Aublet, which has about 15 existing species 

with a similar range and which is found fossil 

in the Tertiary of Venezuela, s<;mthern Mexico 

(Miocene and Pliocene), and Bolivia. For example, the present species resembles a tropical American leaf figured by Ettingshausen and 

called Artocarpus rigida Linne. Whether 

Ettingshausen confused the oriental Artocarpus 

rigida of Blume or whether his leaf was an 

Ameri~an species of Goussapoa or some related 

genus I do not know, no'r is it material, for in 

any case the resemblance between the fossil 

and certain recent Moraceae is emphasized. 

It is possible that these Wilcox forms ar~ 

more closely related to these last-named genera 

than they are to Artocarpus, but they are 

surely referable to the Moraceae. 

The present species is named for the colle(;,tor, Prof. 0. M. BalL 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, . De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

. u Berry, E. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 194, pl. 109, 

fig. 5, 1916. 

u Schenk, August, Palaeophytologie, pp. 451, 477, 1890. 

H Saporta; G. de, op. cit., p. 68, pl. 7, fig. 6, 1868. 

15 Idem, p. 67, pl. 6, fig. 1. 

Is Idem, p. 68, pl. 6, figs. 2-4. 

Genus FICUS _LINNE. 

Ficus mississippiensis (Lesquereux) Berry • . , . I 

Plates VI, VII, and VIII. 

Cinnamomum -mississippiensis Lesquereux; in Dana, 

Manual of geology, 1st ed., p. 513, fig. 794, 1866; 

Am. Philos. Soc. Trans., vol. 13, p. 418, pl. 19, 

:fig. 2, 1869. 

Knowlton, Am. Geologist, vol. 16, p. 308, 1895; U. S. 

Geol.· Survey Prof. Pa~er 101, p. 320, pl. 89, fig. 2; · 

1917. 

Berry, U. S. GeoL Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 298, , 

pl. 37, :fig. 2, 1916. 

Fu-us planicostata Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1872, p. 393, 1873; 

Tert~ry flora, p . 201, pl. 31, :figs. 1-8, 10-12, 1878. 

?Newberry, U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 35, p. 88, pl. 46, 

:fig, 1, 1898. 

Cockerell, Colorado Univ Studies, vol. 7, p. 151, 1910. 

FU:us clintoni Lesqu:ereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey · 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1872, p. 393, 1873. 

F?cus planicostata goldiana iesquereux, idem for 1873, 

p. 399, 1874; Tertiary flora, p. 202, pl. 33, :figs. 1-3, 

1878. 

Ficus pseudopopulus Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. 

Survey Terr. Bull., vol. 1, p. 387, 1875; idem, Ann. 

Rept. for 1874, p. 313, 1876; Tertiary flora, p. 204, 

pl 34, :figs. la, 2. 

Berry, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 200, pl. 37, 

:figs. 3-5; pl. 113, fig. 3, 1916. 

Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, p. 304, 

pl. 72, :figs. 2-4; pl. 73, figs. 1, 2; pl. 112, :fig. 3, 1918. 

FU:us occidentalis (Lesquereux) Lesquereux, Tertiary 

flora, p. 200, pl. 32, fig. 4) 1878; Mus. Comp. Zool. 

Bull., vo~. 16, p. 50, 1888. 

Pen:hallow, Report on Tertiary plants of British 

Columbia, p. 55, 1908. 

Berry, U. S. GeoL Survey Prof. Paper 91, pp. 121, 

197, pl. 28, fig. 3, 1916. 

Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Swvey Pro~. Paper 101, p. 331, 

pl. 72, :fig. 1, 1918. 

Dombeyopsis occidentalis Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geol. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1872, p. 380, 1873. 

Ficus planicostata clintoni Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 152, p. 103, 189S; U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 191, p. 303, pl. 76, fig. 3, 1918. 

Ficus planicostata latijolia Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and 

Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1872, p. 393, 

1873; Tertiary flora, p. 1 202, pl. 31, fig. 9, 1878 .. 

Berry, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 199, 1916. 

Ficus latijolia Knowlton (not Kunth, 1846), U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 152, p. 102, 1898-; U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 101, p. 304, 1917. 

Ficus cockerelli Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 696, 

p. 273, 1919 . 

Ficus planicostata ma1ima Beyy, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 91, p. 199, pl. 34, ifig. 3, 1916. 

Ficus planicostata Lesquereux. Hollick, Louisiana Geol. 

Survey Special Rept., p. 282, pl. 36, 1888. I 

BUREAU OF MINES liBRARY 

DENVER 
10 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Fieus neoplanicostata Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 101, p. 303, pl. 73, fig. 4; pl. 74, figs. 2, 3; pl. 

76, fig. 4, 1918. 

Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 198, 

pl. 114, fig. 1, 1916. 

Fieus richardsoni Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 1D1, p. 305, pl. 76, fig. 1, 1918. 

It would seem that if the systematic work of 

paleobotany is to be made available for the 

general purposes of geology and botany the 

paleobotanist must take the time to coordinate 

and digest the results of the work on local 

floras. There are certain general principles 

that should guide _workers in founding new 

species, and I am thoroughly in accord with 

the principle which holds that analysis should 

. precede synthesis, and that in describing specimens from a new horizon or a remote geographic locality the presumption should prevail that they are distinct from previously 

described forms unless identity can be conclusively shown. Likewise there are certain 

forms in a different category, long known and 

hence not 'susceptible of this treatment-for 

examp~e, Podozamites lanceolatus, Asplenium 

dicksonianum, ·or Sequoia reichenbachi-which 

are obviously composite and yet which do not 

offer any criteria for segregation other than 

those of a stratigraphic nature. These forms 

may well remain as they are until the progress 

of knowledge enables the paleobotanist to 

treat them in a scientific manner. 

In a recent study of a large and well-preserved collection from ·the Wilcox near Mansfield, La., I have been profoundly impressed 

with the graded variability in the leaves of 

certain genera, particularly Ficus and Rhamnus. 

In my report on the flora of the Wilcox group, 

published in 1916, 18 clifferent species of Ficus 

were recognized, and in Knowlton's recently 

published report on the flora of the Raton 

formation 17 species of Ficus are recognized. 

In both works the comparisons made appear 

legitimate, but in neither, apparently, had the 

broader question of interrelationship in the 

genus received adequate consideration. To 

revert to the representation of Ficus in the 

Wilcox flora: Of the 18 identified forms a 

reexamination appears to confirm the validity 

of 13 beyond question. The remaining five 

species, which were identified as· Ficus neo'-

planicostata, pseudopopulus, planicostata maxima, occidentalis, and denveriana, represent 

ovate types with three basilar or subbasilar 

primaries and percurrent tertiaries. As sparingly represented in the original collections each 

showed a certain individuality, but in the later 

col~ection, where_ they are abundant, they show 

every gradation in size and in the ratio of width 

to length. 

I do not consider it possible to maintain 

specific boundaries in this series, although the 

extremes of size or of short-elliptical or long 

and narrow ovate-acuminate outline are strikingly different in aspect. 

This polymorphism, or. better termed variability, led to the assembling of all the published figures of the so-called species enumerated in the foregoing synonymy. It was found 

that these forms had been described at different 

times by different workers and that the criteria 

of separation were as follows: 

1. Size. 

2. Relative proportions of width to length. 

3. Shortening or lengthening of the apex. 

4. Character of base ranging from various degrees of 

cuneate through truncate tQ slightly cordate. 

5. Number and spacing of the secondaries. 

6. Position of the primaries, whether basilar, subbasilar~ 

or suprabasilar. 

In all the species the general facies and 

tertiary venation remain identical throughout. 

It might be argued that these represent 

generic features and that the foregoing criteria 

of separation are legitimate specific features. 

It may be noted, however, that most of the 

features enumerated . above are interrelated 

and dependent upon the proportions of the 

leaves, and it may also be noted that leaves 

which are normally large at maturity ·reach 

that normal size by growth, so that mere 

smallness is not a specific character. However, 

I will not quarrel with my colleagues who 

prefer to keep the species listed in the foregoing synonymy distinct-the relationships 

sketched below hold good, whatever categories are used. Some will doubtless incline 

to consider them varieties of a single botanic 

species, but I can only think of them as varie..;. 

ties in the praenuntial or formative state, with 

the intermediate steps not yet extinct, and 

it seems to me that all could probably have 

been fou~d on a single lower Eocene tree. 

Were they ever found unassociated there 

might be some justification for maintaining 

their distinctness, but wherever adequate col-
ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 11 

lections are avaihtble, whether it be from the 

Denver formation, the Raton formation, or 

the Wilcox group, all or nearly all the ·forms 

are found associated in the same stratum. 

Fifteen to twenty species of a single genus do 

not grow together in nature. 

If these forms are considered to represent a 

. single variable species, then the earliest name 

available is miss.issippiensis, given by Lesquereux to what he regarded as a species of 

Oinnamomum. It is true that this form was 

rather small in size, but the type is no longer 

in existence and the later material identified 

as this species is larger. For example, the form 

so named in the Raton flora is identical with 

the associated forms referred to Ficus pseudopopulus. The type of this last-mentioned 

species was also based on small forms, which 

do not, however, differ in any essential respect 

from the larger leaves later determined, and 

the maximum of size and elongation is furnished 

by the forms from the Wilcox figured in the 

present contribution. I have not included 

Ficus denveriana in the foregoing synonymy, 

as it prevailingly lacks the three primaries and 

is pinnate veined. However, certain specimens so called appear to belong here, as, for 

example, the specimen shown in figure 5 'on 

Plate XXXIII of Lesquereux 's "Tertiary 

flora.'' 

mississippiensis would be the transformation 

of the basal secondaries into lateral primaries. 

As triveined forms of Ficus are not uncommon in the Upper Cretaceous the ancestral 

stock of Ficus mississippiensis may go back to 

some such form as Ficus ovatifolia Berry, of 

the Coastal Plain Cretaceous, or Ficus praetrinervis Knowlton, of the Vermejo fo.rmation; 

and Ficus denveriana may be unrelated or else 

represent the transformation of lateral primaries into basal secondaries. 

Discussion may be eliminated by presenting 

the supposed interrelationship diagrammatically in terms of the specific names of the 

above synonymy, as follows: 

planicostata 

planicostata maxima neoplanicostata 

I I 

occidentalis pseudopopul us 

The maxima of these two lines of variation 

are shown in the accompanying figures, and 

no detailed description · of them is regarded as 

necessary. A statement regarding the recorded 

geographic and geologic range of the species 

may not, however, be out of place. This may 

be presented in tabular form~ as follows: 

Lara:mie. · Wilcox. Raton. 

Post-Lara:mie, 

Black Buttes 

coal group, or Clarno. Denver. 

Cinnamomum mississippiensis....... . . . . . . . . . . . . X 

Ficus plani.costata.................... X (?) 

Ficus pseudopopulus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 

Ficus occidentalis .................. · ............ ·. X 

Ficus planicostata maxima........... . . . . . . . . . . . . X F~cus D:eoplanico.stata .......................... :. ·. X 

Ficus nchardsom ................ ~ ................ _ .... _ ..... . 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Evanston. 

X 

X 

(?) X 

X 

Ficus planicostata . Lesquereux . represents I It may' be noted that only one of these 

. variants with a foreshortened apex, although species, namely, F. · planicostata, is recorded 

the smaller leaves of this ·so-called species as from a pre-Tertiary horizon, and that all are 

figured by Lesquereux are indistinguishable found associated in both the Wilcox and Raton 

from the small leaves. of Ficus neoplanicostata floras, Ficus richardsoni Knowl~on of the Raton 

figured by Knowlton. not being an exception to this statement, for it 

If the central stock of this variable species is obviously identical with Fic~s pseudopopulus. 

is considered to have been an elliptical-ovate Occurrences in the Wilcox range throughoct . 

p~nniveined form similar to the typical Ficus the group and are ... :a,s follows: 

denveriana Cockerell or to the young leaves ,F ·f · ,, · Ackerman fotmadon: ·Raglans Branch, Lafayette Connreferred to Ficus neoplanicostata, then the ty, Miss.; ColemansMill, Choctaw County, MJ.ss.; Hurleys, 

assumption of the specific character of Ficus Benton County, Miss. 
12 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Upper Wilcox: Shreveport, Caddo Parish, La.; Mansfield, Naborton and vicinity, De Soto Parish, La.; Old 

Port Caddo Landing, Harrison County, Tex.; Elmendorf 

clay pit, Elmendorf, Bexar County, Tex.; Carrizo sandstone half a mile west of Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County, 

Tex. 

Lagrange formation (middle and upper Wilcox age): 

Puryear, Henry Co,mty, Tenn.; Sandy, Hardeman County, Tenn. 

Order RANALES. 

Family MAGNOLIACEAE. 

Genus MAGNOLIA Linne. 

Family MENISPERMACEAE. 

• Genus MENISPERMITES Lesquereux. 

Menispermites cebathoides Berry, n. sp. 

Plate XI, figure 1. 

Leaves orbicular-ovate, about as wide as long, 

with a wide truncate base and a broadly and 

shortly pointed apex. Margins entire. Texture 

thin. Length about 10 centimeters; maximum 

width, below the middle, about 10 centimeters. 

Petiole missing, but from the character of the 

ba$e it must have been of considerable length 

and expanded where it joined the lamina; the 

Magnolia angustifolia Newberry. 

Plate IX. 

Magnolia angustijolia Newberry, U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., 

vol. 5, p. 513, 1882. 

· joint was at an angle with the plane of the 

lamina. There are 7 primaries from the widely 

expanded apex of the petiole at the extreme 

base of the leaf. These diverge at acute reguBerry, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 214, 1916. 

Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, p. 309, 

pl. 79, fig. 1; pl. 80; pl. 81, fig. 1, 1917. 

Magnolia attenuata Weber. Lesquereux, Tertiary flora, 

p. 250, pl. 45, fig. 6, 1878. 

Terminalia radobojensis Heer (not Unger). Lesquereux, 

U.S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 

1871, Suppl., p. 15, 1872. 

Magnolia lanceolata Lesquereux. Hollick, Louisiana 

Geol. Survey Special Rept. 5, p. 282, pl. ii, 1899. 

This species, which is common in the Raton 

formation and in the upper part of the Wilcox 

group,is much more common west of the Mississippi than e~st of it. A· specimen from Louisiana is figured in the present' paper. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De Soto Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

· Magnolia leei Knowlton. 

Plate X. 

Magnolia leei Knowlton MS. Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 91, p. 215, pl. 43, figs. 1, 2, 1916. 

Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, p. 313, 

pl. 64, fig. 2; pl. 65, fig. ·2; pl. 81, fig. 2, 1918. 

This well-marked species, which is abundant 

in the Raton formation in Colorado and New 

Mexico, appears to range from the bottom to 

the top of the Wilcox group in the embayment 

region. It has not heretofore been found iii 

that region west of the M:issisr:;ippi but proves 

· to be not uncommon in Louisiana. . 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

larly spaced angles; all are curved, and the 

midrib is slightly, if at all, stouter than the 

lateral primaries. It is longer, however, and 

at about one-third of its distance to the apex 

it gives off, at acute angles, a pair of opposite 

secondaries, which sweep upward and are camptodrome in the tip of the leaf. The lateral primaries are all stout and prominent and decrease 

in length from above downward. The basal, 

shortest, and straightest pair form angles of 

about 70° with the midrib; they give off on the 

outside three or four regularly spaced secondaries, which are camptodrome close to the 

margin; the tip joins the tip of the basal secondary of the primary next above by a simple 

camptodrome arch close to the margin. The 

second pair of primaries forni angles of about 

'50° with the midrib; they are longer and 

slightly stouter than the basal pair and slightly 

more curved, but less so than the third pair 

of primaries; they give off on the outside two 

to f9ur regularly spaced stout secondaries, 

which are camptodrome close to the margin; 

their tip joins a simple camptodrome tertiary 

from the-lowest secondary of the third primary 

by a simple camptodrome curve close to the 

margin. The third pair -of primaries form 

angles of about 25° with the midrib; they are 

more curved than the others and give off on 

the outside four or five regularly spaced secondaries, which are simply camptodrome close 

to the margins and the basal one of which may 

have the caliber and appearance of a dichotomous fork of the primary, as in the left side 

of the leaf figured; the tip of the third primary 
ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 13 

~urves close to the margin to join a cainptodrome tertiary. from the outside of th~l main 

pair of secondaries from the midrib. T~e tertiaries, with the exception of the camptodrome 

ones already alluded to, are thin aud largely 

immersed, exceedingly regular i:ri their spacing, 

and prevailingly percurrent, although they occasionally fork and inosculate, as shown in the 

figured specimen. The ultimate art'olation is 

fairly distinct in spots and must · have been 

entirely so in life; it shows relatively large and 

prevailing subrectangular meshes. 

This fine species is obviously new and forms 

a striking addition to the Wilcox flora, as its 

modern relatives are ·all climbing or twining 

herbs or shrubs p'revailingly of wooded or 

stream-side habitats. It is similar in form to 

the Wilcox species Oercis wilcoxiana. Berry but 

entirely different in its venation characters and 

obviously not related to that form. The previously known Wilcox species of Menispermites, 

M. wilcoxensis Berry, is a much more typically 

ovate form with a prolonged acuminate tip and 

but three instead of seven primaries. The 

tertiary venation and the camptodrome arches 

close to the margins are the same in both, and 

neither shows the tendency toward a lobation 

of the lamina, which is so pronounced a feature 

in so many of the existing _ species of this 

family. 

The existing species are too imperfectly 

known and polymorphous to render detailed 

comparisons with this Eocene form of much 

value. The fossil is not unlike the leaves of 

our common Menispermum ca.nadense Linne, 

which are nonlo bate. It shows a similar 

resemblance to the leaves . of our common 

Oebatha carolina (Linne) Britton, which are 

nonlobate, and similar statements might be 

made with regard to a large number of exist:.. 

ingspecies of tlie family. Amo~g fossil lforms 

the most similar is Oocculus ( Oeba.tha.) la.ti!folius, 

from the Pliocene of France, described by 

Saporta and Marion,t 7 but this similarity is 

of the same order as the comparisons with 

recent forms just mentioned. 

The polymorphism of the existing species 

renders it de'sirable to refer this new form to the 

genus Menispermites, imp-lying a fossil form of 

Menispermaceae of undeterminable generic 

affinity. It might very well be ancestral to the 

u Saporta, G. de, and Marion, A. F., Recherches sur les vegetaux 

fossiles de Meximieux, p. 264, pl. 31, figs. 4-7; pl. 32, fig. 1, 1876. 

91048°-23-2 

genus Oocculus DeCandolle, or Oeba.tha. Forskal, 

as modern taxonomists prefer to call it, as 

Forskal's name was published in 1775, or 43 

years earlier than De Candolle' s proposal. 

The existing species of Menispermaceae 

number about 350 in about 60 genera. All are 

twining or climbing woody or herbaceous 

plants with alternate exstipulate leaves and · 

drupaceous fruits. A majority of the species 

are confined to moist tropical regions, but .a 

considerable number are found in both temperate zones. None of the subfamilies are 

confined to a single continental region, and 

several of the genera are found on all the continents. 

The existing species O'f Menispermum, but 

two or three in n~mber, are confined to Atlantic North Ameriaa and eastern Asia, which 

~dicates a wider. I range . during geologic time. 

The genus Oeba.thd ( Oocculus) is a large oue for 

this family, with ~bout 30 species, its distribution including all the continents except Europe 

and extending to !the Hawaiian Islands. Several fossil species that . have been referred 

directly to it or tol th•e form genus Oocculites go 

back as far as the Upper Cretaceous. A wellmarked species is r resent in the later Tertiary 

of the Mississippi embayment, and it would 

perhaps not be far from the truth if the present 

species were referled to this genus. -

· The family ha~ 10 genera with about 75 

species confined o the Western Hemisphere, 

mostly in tropica~ South America. Asia has 

13 peculiar gener ; Africa, including Madagascar, has 14; and Australia has 7, all mono typic 

and largely found [in the peculiar environment 

of Western Australia. The largest number of 

e:xi~ting species o

1

ccur. in tropical Asia, from 

whiCh about 150 are known, or about 50 more I 

than are known from America, which ranks 

second in the numjber of existing forms. 

The fossils of the narrow triveined form of 

some species of dpcculus ( Oebatha) are rather 

difficult to determine, for they show more or 

less resemblance t& some leaves in the families 

Smilacaceae, Lau:raceae, Urticaceae, Pipera- 1 

ceae, Melastomataceae, and others. 

The wider leav~s are more characteristic, 

and species of Menispermum are recorded 

from beds as earl~1 as the Oligocene of France. 

The form genus enispermites has numerous 

Upper Cretaceous . pecies, particularly of Cenomanian and Tur nian age, a~d is recorded 
14 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

from Portugal, Bohemia, Greenland, Argen-:-

tina, and various localities in the United States 

and Canada. It is especially varied in the 

Dakota sandstone. 

Forms referred to Cocculus De Oandolle, 

Cocculites Heer, or Cebatha Forskal are recorded from the Upper Cretaceous of North 

America, Europe, and Asia and from the 

early Tertiary of Greenland, North America, 

and Europe. It seems probable that some of 

the forms referred to Unger's genus Daphnogene belong to this family. The genus Macclintockia. Heer, of the Upper Cretaceous and 

early Tertiary, particularly of the Arctic region, 

is often referred to this family, as by Schimper. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

Order ROSALES. 

Family CAESALPINIACEAE. 

Genus CASSIA Linne. 

Cassia ernarginata Berry. 

Cassia emarginata Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

91; p. 233, pl. 45, fig. 17b; pl. 48, fig. 5, 1916. 

Heer 18 mentions a Cassia emarginata of 

Saporta, which would, if valid, necessitate 

changing the name of this Wilcox species. 

As near as I can discover, however, Cassia 

emarginata Saporta was a nomen. nudum. It 

is not mentioned by either Schimper or Schenk, 

and Saporta appears to have renamed the 

form Caesalpinites latifolius when he actually 

described it.19 · 

Family MIMOSACEAE. 

Genus MIMOSITES :Qowerbank. 

Mirnosites variabilis Berry. 

Mimosites variabilis Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

91, p. 227, pl. 45, figs. 6-11, 1916. 

This common middle and upper Wilcox 

species has not heretofore been found south of 

Grenada, Miss. It is contained in recent 

collections from a locality 1 mile west of 

Clayhatchee, Dale County, Ala. 

1s Recherches sur le climat et la v~getation du pays tertiaire, p. 149, 

1861. 

19 ·sa porta, G. de, Etudes sur la vegetation du sud-est de la France a 

l'epoque tertiaire, vol. 1, p. 140, 1863. 

Family PAPILIONACEAE. 

Genus DALBERGIA Linne fils. 

Dalbergia puryearensis Berry, new name. 

Dalbergia eocenica Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

91, p. 245, pL 53, figs. 1, 2, 1916. 

The name assigned to this Wilcox Dalbergia 

in 1916 is antedated by Dalbergia eocenica 

Ettingshausen/0 based on Protamyris eocenica 

Unger, 21 and I therefore propose that this 

species be called Dalbergia puryearensis, in 

allusion to the type locality. 

Order SAPINDALES. 

FamilyiCACINACEAE. 

Genus CALATO:r..OIDES Berry, n. gen ~ 

Calatoloides eocenicurn Berry, n. sr 

Plate XIV, figures 3-5. 

The present species is based on casts of a 

nutlike fruit which appears to be very close to 

those of a recently described genus that is 

referred with some doubt to the family Icacinaceae and is based upon three new species 

of existing arborescent forms of the Central 

American region. In view of the incompleteness of the fossil material and the lack of 

certainty as to its identity with the recent 

fruits in all particulars, it has seemed best to 

propose a new genus for its reception. The 

name suggested for this new genus implies a 

relationship with the existing genus. The 

fossil fruit as restored from casts is a moderately prolate spheroid, 2.5 to 3 centimeters ill 

length and about 2.25 centimeters in diameter, 

broadly :rounded proximad and bluntly pointed 

distad. The ligneous shell is marked by somewhat irregular prominent branching and anastomosing longitudinal ridges, connected by 

low subordinate irregularly transverse ridges. 

If it. was like the existing form it contained a 

single large seed. 

I have had this Wilcox material in my possession for a number of years without any idea 

as to its botanic relationship. In collecting 

recent fruits in Panama in 1919 I obtained 

one which suggested the fossil. In seeking to 

determine the Panama specimen at the United 

20 Ettingshausen, Constantin, Beitrage zur Kenntniss der fossilen 

Flora von Sotzka, p. 73, 1858. 

21 Unger, Franz, Die fossile Flora von Sotzka, p. 180, pl. 31, fig. 15, 

1850. 
ADDITIONS TO THJE ·FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 15 

States National Herbarium I found hat it East Indies 2, Nrw Guinea 1, New Caledonia 2. 

was identical with 1naterial from Costa Rica All the existing . merican forms belong to the 

which Messrs. Standley and Safford consid- large subfamily j Icacinoideae, which is also 

ered to represent a new genus, very probably represented in alf the other regions, so that its 

a member of the Icacinaceae. They have origin or interrelf tionships are unknown. 

since recognized three species of this genus- Occurrenc : Butler (West Point) salt dome, 

two from Mexico and one from Costa ca and in the eastern rt of Freestone Connty, near 

Panama. These are trees of considerable size, Trinity River, 61 wiles northeast of Oakville, 

with broadly lanceolate camptodrome-veined Tex.; collected y 0. B. Hopkins and 0. C. 

leaves. The fruits have a thin flesh j in life Funderbunk. I . 

and a single large spherical seed. THe fossil I ' Order RHAMNALES. form is similar in shape and ornamentation 1 

but is only about half the size of the[ recent Famt y RHAMNACEAE. 

fruits and may therefore be conside1red . as 

Genu RHAMNUS Lmne. standing in an ancestral relation to the modern 

genus, for which Standley and Safford have Rhamni s cleburni Lesquereux. . 

proposed the name Galatola. f Rhamnus cleburni Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. and Geog. SurThe ·occurrence of a fossil representative o vey Terr.Ann~ Rept. for 1872, p. 381, 1873; Tertiary 

the family Icacinaceae in the lower Eojcene of flora, p. 280, ~ 53, figs. 1-3, 1878; u. s. Nat. Mus. 

Texas is of very great interest. No member of Proc., vol. 11, . 24, 1888. 

the family, so far as I know, has evel before Knowlton, U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 204, p. 80, 1902. 

been found . fossil. The family consists of Berry, U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 283; 1916. 

about 39 genera and 150 existing spe:cies, of The present ~aterial, which is abundant,. 

which only 8 genera, with less than 30 sj pecies, emphasizes the ·lgreat similarity and possible 

are found in America, where they are for the identity betwee~ this form and Rhamnus coumost part confined to the Tropics. None of shatta.Berry,

22 al' o the g;reat variability in outthese genera except Mappia, a nativel of the line of these lea1es, many of which are longer 

Antilles, occurs in any other geographic! region, and relatively narrower than the type and show 

and this genus is supposed to be represented indications of gr ding into what I have called 

in Ceylon and farther India. As the forms Rhamnus margin ,t1ts apiculatus. 23 

from farther India constitute the s4bgenus Occurrence: Gpss pit, half a mile east of 

Trichocrater and . those from Ceylon the sub- Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

genus Eumappia, it seems doubtful if Mappia 0. M. Ball. 1· 

is really an exception to the peculiar character 

of the·. existing American members lof this Rhamnus jarginatus apiculatus Berry. . 

family. The family as a whole is distinctly Plt e XI, figures 2, 3. 

oriental in the e.xisting flora, with its c~n. ter of Rhamnus marginatus piculatus Berry, U.S. Geol. Surv.ey 

dispersal in the south Asian region, for although Prof. Pap~ 91 p. 283, pl. 69, fig. 1, 1916. 

there is only a single monotypic genus con- At th t' ~ th bl" t" f th t . e Ime 011 e pu Ica 10n o e repor 

fined to southeastern Asia, this region pairs on the Wilcox flora this variety was represented 

with Africa, the East Indies, or Aust~alia in t by a small numb~r of specimens from the Ackermany occurrences: thus there are 8 genera with man formation o~Mississippi. It is common in 

23 species which are Malaysian, 6 gene~a with · r . later collections om Louisiana and shows con34 species which are Asian and Malaysian, side~able variatiqn in size and outline. All the 

3 genera with 19 species which are common to speCimens are sbmewhat narrower than the 

Africa and southern Asia, and 1 genus 1 with 4 type; some have a very long acumen and others 

species common to Malaysia and Australia. lack a prominent acumen. Two of these speciTen genera with 33 species are confi1

1 

ned to · 1 1 f · mens are figuredr the arger a ea 21 centime- I 

Africa, and 3 genera with 6 species are confined · 1 h d 4 t' t · · 

I 

te_rs In engt al . cen Ime ers In maximum 

to Australia. width. . · The family contains 10 monotypic g~neraone of Guiana and all the remainder Old World 22 Berry, E. w., u.s. Gejl ol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 284, pl. 68, fig.1; 

1 1916. . forms, as follows: Africa 3, southeastern Asia 1, n Idem, p. 283, pl. 69, _fig. 1. 
16 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by Mansfield, De Soto Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 0. M. Ball. 

Genus RHAMNITES Forbes. 

Rhamnites knowltoni Berry, new name. 

Plate XII, figure 7. 

Cornus studeri Lesquereux, U . S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 

Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, p . 293, 1872 (not Heer, 

1859); Tertiary flora, p. 244, pl. 42, figs. 4, 5, 1878 . 

. Hollick, in Harris and Veatch, 'A preliminary report on 

the geology of Louisiana, p . 286, pl. 45, fig. 2, 1899. 

Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 163, p . 68, pl. 15, 

fig. 3, 1900. 

Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 331, pl. 

68, fig. 3, 1916. 

In the account of the Wilcox flora this species 

was said to be represented by fragments from 

a number of localities, the most complete specimen being the one figured from Coushatta, La. 

Subsequent collections show that this form is 

abundant in the Wilcox near Mansfield and confirm the previous statement that it differs from 

Heer's Swiss Miocene type and also is not properly referable to the genus Oornus. Although 

in some of the features it is similar to species 

that have been referred. to Ficus, these features 

are not like any in existing forms of that genus, 

where the venation has certain characteristics 

that are easily recognized. They are, on the 

other hand, characteristic of certain members 

of the families Sapindaceae and Rhamnaceae, 

particularly the latter, and I have therefore 

transferred the American forms to the genus 

Rhamnites. 

R. knowltoni may be described as follows: 

Leaves large, broadly ovate, many of them 

slightly inequilateral, the tip somewhat nar .. 

rowed and acuminate and the ba&'e rounded or 

very broadly pointed. Margins entire, in some 

specimens faintly undulate. Texture subcoriaceous. Midrib stout and prominent. Secondaries stout, six to nine pairs, diverge · from the 

midrib at irregular intervals at angles of about 

45°, camptodrome. Tertiaries thin, closely 

spaced, percurrent, typically rhamnaceous. 

Size variable, some leaves being as much as 19 

centimeters in length and 9.5 centimeters in 

maximum width, which is in the lower half of 

the leaf. A large specimen from Mansfield is 

figured in the present paper. The single Louisiana specimen has a length of 16 centimeters 

and a maximum width, midway between the 

apex and the base, of 8.75 centimeters. 

Order MALVALES. 

Family MALVACEAE? 

Genus MONOCARPELLITES Perkins. 

[Vermont State Geologist Rept. for 1903-4, p. 180.] 

Monocarpellites perkinsi Berry, n. ·sp. 

Plate XII, figures 1-6. 

Ligneous single-celled carpels, with numerous seeds. General form spheroidal; whether 

oblate or prolate is uncertain, as the material 

has suffered much compression. Probably 

nearly spheroidal in life, with 10 to 12 thin 

longitudinal ribs. Apex mucronate-tipped. 

Hilum large depressed, about 2 millimeters in 

diameter. 

This species is not uncommon at the locality 

cited, but it is impossible to determine the 

character of the interior. The conclusion that 

the ribs do not represent keels or sutures of a 

tardily dehisceilt capsule rests upon their 

somewhat unequal spacing, the lack of any 

traces of sutures, and the fact that one specimen has undergone great compression in a 

vertical plane without developing any indications ·of a capsular nature. The conclusion 

that these carpels were many seeded also rests 

upon the manner in which compression has 

occurred and the resulting irregularities of surface, which differ from what would be shown if 

one or a few large seeds had been present. 

The genus Monocarpellites, to. which the 

present species is referred, is a form genus established by Perkins in 1904 and based upon 

abundant material from the Eocene lignite 

deposits at Brandon, Vt. Specimens of Monocarpellites are among the most abundant fossils 

at Brandon, .and Perkins has described 11 different species based upon differential features 

that are more or less well marked but quite 

obviously not of specific grade. Although the 

Wilcox Monocarpellites resembles several of · 

these so-called species from the Brandon lignite it can not be conclusively identified with 

any one of them, so that in the present unsatisfactory state of our knowledge of fossil fruits 

it must necessarily be considered to represent 

a new species. 

In this connection attention should be called 

to the genus Hightea, which was described by 
ADDITIONS T'O THE FLORA OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 17· 

Bowerbank 24 from the abundant pyritized 

fruits found in the London clay of Sheppey 

(Y presian). As elucidated by Bower bank the 

genus Hightea possessed a one-celled valveless 

peri carp with large 4 to 6 angled placena and 

numerous down-bearing seeds, these fruits 

having every appearance of being five pr more 

numerously valved capsules~ Hightea is very 

abundant at Sheppey, and Bowerbank described no less than 10 so-called species, which 

are subject to the same limitations as Perkins's 

numerous species of Morwcarpellites. 

Although it. is impossible to advance'conclusive opinions without having studied a large 

suite of specimens, it seems probab~e that 

Hightea and MorwcarpeUites .are congeneric, 

thus affording an important item for the corre-

·lation of these three widely separated deposits, 

valuable chiefly for the evidence it affords of 

the age of the Brandon lignite, as the parallelism between the London clay and the Wilcox 

is already well established. 

Occurrence: Spink's clay pit, nea~ Paris, 

Henry County, Tenn. I 

Family STERCU:LIACEAE. 

Genus STERCULIA Linne. 

Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry' n. sp. ·I 

Plate XIV, figures 1, 2; Plate.XV, figm:es 3, 4. 

Sterculia puryearensis Berry, U, S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 91, pl. 72, fig. 3 · (not other figures of this 

species), 1916. 

Leaves (in discovered material) trilobate, 

divided from one-half to two-thirds of the distance to the base in to a median conical to 

slightly ovate lobe and lateral, somewhat narrower conical lobes. All are acuminate, and all 

may be of equal length, or the median lobe may 

be somewhat longer. The intervening sinuses 

are open and rounded and of varying depth; 

their degree of openness depends on the att~tude 

of the lateral lobes, for although the angle of 

divergence of the lateral primaries with the 

midrib is practically uniform, the later~llobes 

and the primaries forming their midveins may 

be either incurved or recurved, as shown in the 

accompanying illustrations. The margins are 

entire and the texture coriaceous. Length· 

ranging from 12 to 16 centilneters; maocimum 

width, between the tips of the lateral lobes, 

ranging from 9.75 to ~5.25 centimeters and 

largely dependent on the attitude of .the lobes. 

The petiole was evidently long and stout; it is. 

preserved for 2 centimeters in one specimen .. 

The midrib is stout and prominent, approxi--

mately straight or variously curved. The, 

lateral primaries are approximately as stout. 

and prominent as the midrib. They diverge 

from the midrib a considerable distance above 

the base, at angles between 35° and 45°, and 

are variously curved. The secondaries are thin 

and not especially prominent; they are numer-· 

ous, regularly spaced, and subparallel, diverge 

at wide angles, and are abruptly camptodrome. 

The tertiaries are obscure. 

The present species is, on the whole, well 

marked. It is in many ways similar to the 

European Oligocene species Sterculia labrusca 

Unger 25 and, like that and most other living 

and fossil species, may have varied to a fewer 

or greater number of lobes, although all the 

specimens known at present are trilobate. It 

may be properly considered ancestral to the 

Claiborne species Sterculia labruscoides Berry, 

a somewhat smaller form with more conical 

lobes and rounded base. 

A fragment of this species from Puryear, 

Tenn., was figured in 1916 and referred to Sterculia puryearensis Berry. Recent collections 

from Louisiana show that this fragment represents the present species, which is quite dis-· 

tinct from the much larger and more ovate, 

lobed and lobate Sterculia puryearensis. It. 

adds a second and striking representative of' 

this genus to the flora _of the Wilcox group, in 

which it is also represented by the fruits referred to the genus Sterculiocarpus. 

Occurrence; Puryear, Henry County, Tenn.;: 

collected by E. W. Berry~ Goss pit, half a mile, 

east of Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 0. M. Ball. Carrizo sandstone half a. 

mile west of Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County, 

Tex. 

Genus STERCULIOCARPUS Berry. 

Sterculiocarpus eocenicus Berry. 

Plate XV, figure 5; Plate XVI, figure 1. 

Sterculiocarpus eocenicus Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 91, p. 288, pl. 74, figs .. 1-3, 1916. 

The present specimen adds considerably to· 

our knowledge of this form. It is relatively 

slightly ·longer and narrower than the type 

24Bowerbank, J. S., A history of the fossil fruits and seeds of the . 26 Unger, Franz, Die fossile Flora von Sotzka, p. 45, pl. 28, figs.l-11,. 

London clay, p. 25; pls. 7-9, 1840. 1850. 
18 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

and shows that the capsules were tardily 

loculicidally dehiscent and contained many 

small elongated seeds on parietal placentae. 

It thus differs from the other kno'Wn species, 

namely S. sezannelloides Berry, in which the 

placentae were axile . and the dehiscence 

septicidal. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

Genus HELICTOXYLON Felix. 

Helictoxylon wilcoxianum Berry, n. sp. 

Plates XVII and XVIII. 

Transverse section: V essel,s large, oval, very 

numerous and closely spaced, generally single, 

sometimes in oblique pairs. Rays undulating, 

broad, several cells wide, charged with gum. 

Parenchyma filling most of the space between 

the rays and vessels. Prosenchyma well distributed as single or double strands in the 

parenchyma, with greatly thickened walls. 

Radial section: Vessels reticulately marked 

or obscurely pored. Parenchyma much septate, without discernible pitting. Prosenchyma 

with pointed ends, sparingly septate, with 

ray of very minute pores on the radial walls. 

Rays high, the marginal cells square, the central long and narrow. Pitting obscured by 

gum. 

Tangential section: Vessels often with oblique scalariform perforations; walls reticulately 

marked. Rays fusiform elliptical, 8 or 9 

cells wide medianly, 25 . to 35 cells high, the 

normal ray frequently continued in one or 

both directions by uniserial large rectangular 

cells. Parenchyma of short rectangular cells 

without discernible pitting. Prosenchyma 

sparingly septate, with a row of minute pores. 

The wide rays, the abundance of xylem 

parenchyma, and the prosenchyma with simple 

pits indicate that this wood represents some 

species of Sterculiaceae, and the size and 

abundance of the vessels suggest a liana. As 

it is not possible to make comparisons with 

recent material, nor desirable ·to propose a 

new generic term such as Sterculioxylon, the 

·species is referred to the genus Helictoxylon, 

proposed by Felix 26 for two species from the 

Oligocene of Antigua. $pecies are also known 

from the Tertiary of J aya, Luzon, Galicia, and 

Hungary. The Wilcox species appear to be 

entirely distinct from previously described 

forms. 

Occurrence: Two miles east of N aborton, De 

Soto Parish, La. 

Order THYMELEALES. 

Family LAURACEAE. 

Laurus verus Berry, n. sp. 

Plate XVI, figures 2-7. 

I am fortunate in having several specimens 

of this fruit preserved as a ferric oxide replacement in Wilcox sands. Several are detached 

from the persistent calyx with the hilum ob- · 

scured, and their identity would be questionable were it not for the finding of specimens 

with the calyx attached which came loose from 

the calyx, showing ·the umbo. In form the 

fruit is a considerably prolate spheroid varying 

considerably in size, the minimum and maximum sizes observed being 11 millimeters in 

length by 7 millimeters in maximum diameter · 

and 15 millimeters in length by 9.5 millimeters 

in maximum diameter. The distal end comes 

to a not very obvious point. The surface is 

smooth and polished. The calyx is small, 

thick, coriaceo~, and gamosepalous, the sepals 

represented by six conical or rounded upright 

marginal teeth, 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters in diameter and 2.5 to 3 millimeters high. Peduncle 

stout and curved, 2.5 to 4 millimeters in length. 

These are well shown in the accompanying 

figures. The question of their proper generic 

reference may be left in abeyance for the present, as a considerable number of the genera of the 

Lauraceae have comparable fruits. The term 

Laurus is used in the present connection purely 

as a form genus implying their reference to this 

family. The only lauraceous leaves' found i~ 

association with these fruits are those of Oreodaphne salinensis Berry, and even these are rare. 

It niay be assumed that these fruits floated a 

considerable distance from their point of origin, 

as is frequently the case with modern lauraceous 

fruits. I am inclined to consider these fossils 

as representing the genus Oinnamomum, but 

this is entirely a matter of personal opinion. 

A considerable number of fossil fruits belonging to this family have been described. Among 

them those from the Oligocene of Trotha and 

Bornstadt, in Saxony, described by Friedrich,Z7 

--~----------------;-----.,...-- . 21 Friedrich, P ., Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Tertiarflora der Provin£ 

2s Felix, J., Fossile Holzer Westindiens, p. 18, 1883. Sachsen, pp. 128, 234, pl. 15, fig. 9; pl. 31, fig. 10, 1883. 
ADDITIONS TO T~E FLORA. OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 19 

are exceedingly like the Louisiana fruits. 

Without any pretense at citing records, atten~ 

tion may also be called to the Oinndmomum 

fruits recorded by Friedrich 28 from the Oligocene and those recorded by Heer ?9 from the 

· Miocene of Europe. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

O. M. Ball~enus LAURINOXYLON Felix. ·1 

Laurinoxylon branneri Knowlton. 

Laurinoxylon branneri Knowlton, Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, p . . 256, pl. 9, figs. 8, 9; 

pl. 10, figs. 1, 2; pl. 11, fig. 4, 1891. 

Penhallow, Roy. Soc. Canada Trans.,- 3d ser., vol. .1, 

p. 98, figs. 6-8, 1908. 

Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 314, pl. 

16, figs. 6-10, 1916. . _ . . ' 1·· . 

This species was described in previous reports. 

and doubtfully recorded from the Wilcox. It 

occurs in the Claiborne of Arkansas and Texas, 

according to the identifications of Knowlton 

and Penhallow. 

A specimen from the Wilcox at Shreveport, 

La. (No. 207), appears to be identical {vi ththe 

type. It is rather indifferently preserted and 

adds nothing to our knowledge of the s'p

1

ecies. 

Laurinoxylon wilcoxianum Berry, n. sp. 

Plate XIII. 

mens from the Claiborne group that appear 

to belong to this species . the prosenchyma is 

irregularly septate. Parenchyma about twice 

as wide as the prosenchyma, abundantly septate; no pits seen in the Wilcox material but 

with numerous round pores in the Claiborne 

material. . 

Tangential section: Rays closely crowded, 

2 to 3 cells wide, connected by uniserial stringer~ , 

of large rectangular cells, all full of gum. 

This speci~s appears to be distinct from previously describ ~d forms. ·It is abundant in the 

Wilcox but·M·'usua1ly rather poorly preserved, 

having suffered much from decay before silicification. Much ·better preserved ·material of 

this species is present in the Yegua formation 

of Texas and will be fully described and figured 

in my account of the Claiborne and Jackson 

floras, ,c.Sections have been cut fn?m trunks 

from . t~((. , f~Uowing localities: Half a mile 

southwes.t (214) and 1 mile west (212) of 

N aborton, D.e So to Parish, La.; near Dabney 

(242), Montgomery County, Mi~s.; Pin~y Creek 

(238), 10 miles east of Bolivar, Hardeman 

County, Tenn. All from beds of upper Wilcox 

age except the last, which is probably middle 

Wilcox. 

Order MYRTALES. 

Family COMBRETACEAE: 

Genus TERMINA;LIA Linne. 

Transverse section:. Vessels single or in radial Terminalia le~leyana (Lesquereux) Berry. . <T 

pairs · or triplets, rarely more, occasioyally in Plate XVI, figure 8. 

tangential pairs or excentric. Well dis1lributed Terminalia radobojensis Heer. Lesquereux, U. S. Geol. 

but -sparse, no zonal arrangement or diminu- an.d Geog. Survey Terr. Ann.. Rept. for · 1871, 

tion in size throughout the year, oval in cross Suppl., P· 15, 1872. · 

seetion, thin walled. Prosenchyma abundant~ Magnolia lesleyana Lesquereux, Am. Philos. Soc. Trans., 

h ll l h . k d X l vol. 13, p. 4Z1, pl. 21, figs. 1, 2, 1869; Tertiary flora, t e wa s scarce y t Ic ene . y em paren- s G p. 248, pl. 44, figs. 1-3, 1878; U. . eol. and Geog. 

chyma abundant, showing a tendency to an Survey Terr. Ann. Rept. for 1871, Suppl., p. 14, 

arrangement in tangential bands. Rays undu- 1872. 

lating, one to three cells wide, full of gum. Knowlton, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, p. 

Radial section: Vessels full of tylos~s, with · 

313• pl. 82, figs. 1' 2, 1917. 

Terminalia lesleyana Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. pitted walls. Rays varying in height from 2 to p aper 91, p. 323, p . 1 89, 1916. 

18 cells; marginal cells square, about tWice the . . ·. . .. height and one-half the length of the central A .large spec~men of this species fro~ Louisicells their horizontal and end walls with . ana IS figured In the present paper. Srnce my 

num'erous simple pits. Rays mostly full of account of the ~ilcox flora was published 

gum. A constant feature is the large vertical Knowlton 30 has given a very excellent acseries of ray cells running from one 1ray to count of the Raton flo_ra. In that paper the 

a;nother. Prosenchyma thin, fusifork; no pre~ent species is transferred b_ack to Magmarkings or septation seen although ill speci- _noha; although no reasons are given. I have 

------------' -------- compared the fossil with a large amount of re- 28 Idem, p. 215, pl. 16, figs. 15, 16. 

29 Heer, Oswald, Flora tertiaria Helvetiae, vol. 2, pl. 91, fig. 8, 1856. ao U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 101, 1918. 
20 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1922. 

cent material of both Magnolia and Terminalia 

and am satisfied that the fossil is much more 

like the latter than the former, which was 

POSITION UNCERTAIN. 

Genus PTEROBALANUS Berry, n. gen. 

Lesquereux's original identification before it The genus has the characters of the type and 

became the fashion to refer all large leaves to mily known species. The name is derived from 

Magnolia. . the Greek for winged fruit. · Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

Order GENTIANALES. 

Family APOCYNACEAE. 

Genus APOCYNOPHYLLU:M Unger. 

Apocynophyllum mississippiensis Berry. 

Apocynophyllum mississippiensis Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91, p. 342, pl. 108, fig. 6, 1916. 

The present material contains numerous 

leaves of this species which average about 20 

per cent larger than those previously collected, 

indicating a leaf about 18 centimeters in ~ength 

by 4 centimeters in maximum width. 

Occurrence: Goss pit, half a mile east of 

Mansfield, De So to Parish, La.; collected by 

0. M. Ball. 

Apocynophyllum constrictum Berry. 

Apocynophyllum constrictum Berry, U. S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 91, p. 344, pl. 103, fig. 4, 1916. 

This species was based on the single specimen 

figured, which was collected from the Wilcox of 

Benton, Ark. Additional material was collected recently from the clay ironstone near 

Somerville, Tenn: This is of importance in 

showing that the constricted form that suggested the name of tP.is species was not anomalous but the normal form of this lower Eocene 

Apocynophyllum. It is also important in 

confirming the conclusion that all the known 

fossiliferous Wilcox in Arkansas, Louisiana, and 

Texas is of upper Wilcox age, and that the 

Wilcox sediments were progressively transgressive in the region west of the present Mississippi River. 

Occurrence: Half a mile south of Som~rvilleWhiteville road, Fayette County, Tenn.; collected by Russell F. Ryan. 

Pterobalanus texan us Berry, n. sp. 

Plate XV, figures 1, 2. 

Fruit of uncertain nature, either a manyseeded indehiscent capsule or .a drupe with a 

readily flattened stone; the impression as preserved shows no trace of a stone and rather 

points to its having been a many-seeded capsule. The fact that the wings are so well 

developed rather precludes the inference that 

the central papillose portion of the specimen 

represents the base from which the essential 

part of the fruit had been broken away. 

The remains consist of a stout stalk or 

peduncle, about 2.25 centimeters in length, 

slightly enlarged and cllrved proximad, expanding distad .to form the margin of a ·central 

circular thickened papillose disk, which is 2 

millimeters in diameter. From this margin 

diverge 'in a semicircular fashion about twelve 

wings or enlarged bracts. These are believed 

not to be segments of a. calyx, because of their 

collective lack of symmetry, none being 

developed on the proximal or inner side of the 

central disk. 

These bracts are separate lanceolate in outline, entire margined, acutely pointed, and 

about 5 millimeters in length by 1.5 millimeters 

in maximum width in their expanded median 

regwn. Each appears to have two longitudinal 

veins. 

· The systematic position of this interesting 

winged fruit is unknown, nor do I recall anything similar in the existing flora or in described 

fossil floras. It is based on the single specimen figured and its counterpart. 

Occurrence: Carrizo sandstone at quarries 

half a mile west of Carrizo Springs, Dimmit 

County, Tex. 
I· .. . 

LATES I-XVIII. 

21 

I • 

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

1 

3 

4 

CUPRESSINOXYLON WILCOXENSE BERRY. 

1, Transverse section showing growth rings from Shreveport, La.; 2, similar section from 

Caddo Lake, La.; 4, similar section from Shreveport, La.; 5, tangential section from Caddo 

SIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE I 

Lake, La.; 3, radial seotion from La. All enlarged 20 diameters. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF E SSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE II 

CUPRESSINOXYLON WILCOXENSE BERRY. 

Tangential section from Shreveport, La., enlarged about 300 diameters. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE III 

CUPRESSINOXYL.ON WILCOXENSE BERRY. 

Radial section from Shreveport, La., enlarged about 300 diacm t~ tei·sf 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE IV 

1 

6 

2 3 

9 10 

FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

I. Marchantites stephensoni Berry, Jacksonville, Ark.; 2-4, Palmocarpon butlerensis Berry, near Oakville, Tex.; 

5-7, Dryopteris cladophleboides Knowlton, Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. (6, pinnule to show venation, enlarged 5 diameters; 7, fertile pinnules, enlarged 5 ~iameters); 8-IO,Artocarpoidesballi Berry, Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL P 131 PLATE V 

ARTOCARPOIDES BALLI BERRY. 

A large leaf from Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE VI 

FICUS MISSISSIPPIENSIS (LESQUEREUX) BERRY. 

Two of the large narrow forms from Goss pit, near ;Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE VII 

FICUS MISSISSIPPIENSIS (LESQUEREUX) BERRY. 

Shorter and wider form from same locality as those figured on Plate VI. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE VIII 

FICUS MISSISSIPPIENSIS (LESQUEREUX) BERRY. 

Widest form from same locality as those figured on Plate VI. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIO~AL PAPER 131 PLATE IX 

MAGNOLIA ANGUSTIFOLIA NEWBERRY. 

From Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE X 

MAGNOLIA LEEI KNOWLTON. 

From Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XI 

2 

FOSSIL PLANTS OF~ THE WILCOX GROUP. 

l, Menispermites cebathoides Berry; 2, 3, Rhamnus marginatus apiculatus Berry, small and large leaves. All from Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XIV 

FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

I, 2, Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry, from Goss pit, near Mansfield, La.; 3-5, Calatoloides eocenicum Berry, from Butler 

salt dome, Tex. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XV 

FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

1-2, Pterobalanus texanus Berry; 3-4, Sterculia wilcoxensis Berry (3, Puryear, Tenn.; 4, Goss pit, near Mansfield, La.); 

5, Sterculiocarpus eocenicus Berry (side view), from Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XVI 

0' 1 

2 3 

4 5 

6 7 

8 

FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE WILCOX GROUP. 

1, Sterculiocarpus eocenicus Berry (basal view); 2-7, Laurus verus Berry (2, persistent calyx from above; 3, calyx and peduncle from side; 4, another calyx and peduncle from side; 5, detached fruit; 6, 7, fruits with persistent calices and peduncles); 8, Terminalia lesleyana (Lesquereux) Berry. All from Goss pit, near Mansfield, La. 
U. S, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XVII 

1 

2 

HELICTOXYLON WILCOXIANUM BERRY. 

From vicinity of Naborton, La. 1, Radial section; 2, transverse section. Both enlarged about 300 diameters • 

. · 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 131 PLATE XVIII 

HELICTOXYLON WILCOXIANUM BERRY. 

From vicinity of Naborton, La. Tangential section, enlarged about 300 diameters. 

/