BERBERIS SIMPLEX Newb.
BERBERIS SIMPLEX Newb., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol.
V, p. 514,1883; Later Extinct Floras, p. 97, Pl. LVI, fig. 2, 1898
(1899).
The type of this very distinct species still remains
unique.
Locality.Bridge Creek, Grant County,
Oregon. Collected by Rev. Thomas Condon (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 7046).
BERRERIS? GIGANTEA n. sp.
Pl. XI, fig. 1.
Leaf of large size, very thick and leathery in
texture, palmately deeply three-lobed, lobes lanceolate, provided with
numerous, large, triangular or triangular-lanceolate, sharp-pointed
lobes; lobes provided with very thick, fleshy midrib, and an apparently
continuous intramarginal vein; secondary branches very thin, arising
from the midrib and passing directly or with a slight curve to the
apices of the lateral lobes; finer nervation very thin, anastomosing,
producing large, irregular areas.
The single magnificent specimen upon which this
opinion is based remains absolutely unique. It was clearly a thick,
leathery leaf, and palmately deeply three-lobed. There is no means of
knowing the full length and width, as both base and apex are absent. Of
the middle lobe only about 6 cm. is preserved; of the lateral lobes 8 to
11 cm. is preserved. The widest part between the lobes as now preserved
measures about 13 cm. When perfect it was probably at least 15 cm. long
and spread probably 18 cm. The petiole is, of course, not preserved. The
nervation, as set forth in the diagnosis, is strongly marked. There is a
thin intramarginal vein running around the entire margin, this being
especially prominent in the interval between the lateral lobes. Each
lobe is provided with a very thick, fleshy midrib, from which arise, at
irregular intervals, the thin secondaries which pass to the sharp points
of the lateral lobes. The other nervation produces large anastomosing
areas.
I am somewhat uncertain as to the proper generic
reference for this fine leaf. The late Dr. Newberry, to whom the
specimen was sent and who had prepared a drawing of it, placed it
provisionally in the genus Cnicus, or Carduus, as it is now called. The
peculiar sharp lobes, as well as the fleshy midribs, are suggestive of
the large spiny leaves of thistles, but no species of this genus, so far
as I know, has palmate leaves. The individual lobes resemble the whole
leaf of many species of Carduus, but the palmate character effectively
excludes it.
The only genus with which I have been able to
satisfactorily compare this leaf is Berberis, and the nearest species is
B. trifoliolata Moric. This species, now found in southern Texas
and Mexico, has ordinarily small trifoliolate leaves, but occasionally
one is found in which two and sometimes all three leaflets are united
for a greater or less distance at the base, thus producing a leaf of
exactly the same character as the fossil under discussion. The
individual leaflets of this living species are rarely more than 4 cm. in
length, whereas the lobes of this fossil form must have been 10 or 12
cm. long. In the matter of lobation, nervation, and general appearance,
even to the intramarginal vein, the agreement between them is perfect.
For this reason I have placed this fossil under Berberis and denoted the
doubt by a question mark.
Locality.Mascall beds, Van Horn's ranch,
about 12 miles west of Mount Vernon, Oregon. Collected by Rev. Thomas
Condon. The type and only specimen is the property of Columbia
University, New York, and is under the care of the New York Botanical
Garden.