PHYLLITES WASCOENSIS Lesq.
PHYLLITES WASCOENSIS Lesq. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.,
Vol. XI, p. 22, Pl. XIV, fig. 3, 1888.
Locality.Cherry Creek, Crook County,
Oregon. Collected by Maj. Charles E. Bendire (U. S. Nat. Mus., No.
2633).
PHYLLITES OREGONIANUS n. sp.
Pl. XVI, fig. 1.
Phayllites n. sp., Knowlton in Merriam, Univ.
Cal., Bull. Dept. Geol., Vol. 11, No. 9, p. 303, 1901.
Leaf of firm texture, lanceolate, narrowly
wedge-shaped at base, acuminate at apex; margin perfectly entire; midrib
very thin; secondaries very thin, about eight pairs, alternate, arising
at an acute angle and much curving upward, camptodrome; nervilles few,
obscure; finer nervation not preserved.
The example figured is about 6.5 cm. long and about
1.5 cm. wide. Another much-broken example was apparently about the same
length, but was nearly 3 cm. broad. It has the same kind of secondaries
and has the nervilles better preserved, these being usually broken.
I am uncertain as to the affinities of this little
leaf, although in some respects it suggests Cornus.
Locality.Three and one-half miles south
of Lone Rock, Gilliam County, Oregon. Collected by Merriam's expedition
of 1900 (Mus. Univ. Cal., No. 1334).
PHYLLITES BIFURCIES n. sp.
Pl. XVI, fig. 2.
Leaf coriaceous, ovate or ovate-elliptical in shape,
abruptly rounded at base (apex destroyed), with a single
triangular-lanceolate, acuminate basal lobe; margin otherwise coarsely
toothed, the teeth sharp, pointing upward; petiole short, strong; midrib
very strong below, becoming very thin above; secondaries numerous, thin,
somewhat irregular, ending in the lobe and marginal teeth; finer
nervation not retained.
The curious leaf figured is apparently all that is
represented of this form. It was apparently between 7 and 8 cm. in
length, exclusive of the petiole, nearly 1 cm. long, and is 4.5 cm.
broad between the tip of the long lobe and the opposite of the blade. The
major part of the blade is only 3 cm. broad. The single basal lobe is 2
cm. long.
This leaf presents a very curious appearance with the
long, sharp-pointed lobe on one side, and it is quite possible that it
is an abnormal example perhaps of some Well-known form. If it is the
normal form, it is certainly one that will be readily recognizable in
future. Its affinity is obviously in doubt. If it were not for the
presence of the single basal lobe it might perhaps be referred to
Betula, but I do not know any species, either living or fossil, with
which it can be satisfactorily compared.
Locality.White hill one-half mile east
of original Van Horn's ranch locality, 12 miles west of Mount Vernon,
Grant County, Oregon. Collected by Knowlton and Merriam, July, 1901 (U.
S. Nat. Mus., No. 8537).
PHYLLITES INEXPECTANS n. sp.
Pl. XVI, fig. 6.
Leaf evidently coriaceous, obovate-lanceolate in
shape, narrowed below, obtuse and rounded at apex; margin perfectly
entire; petiole long, very strong for the size of the leaf; midrib also
very strong; other nervation obscure.
This form is represented by the example figured. It
is narrowly obovate-lanceolate in outline, 3.25 cm. long and 9 mm. wide
at the broadest part, which is near the upper extremity. The petiole is
6 mm. long. Unfortunately nothing of the nervation except the thick
midrib is preserved.
This leaf resembles quite closely certain of the
leaves referred to Quercus convexa Lesq.,a from the Auriferous
gravels of California. These leaves are uniformly thick and coriaceous,
yet the nervation shows distinctly in all cases. Our leaf is apparently
no thicker, yet has no trace of the nervation beyond the midrib. The
petiole in Q. convexa is uniformly short, whereas in the leaf
under discussion it is several times longer, being about one-fourth the
length of the blade.
On the whole, this leaf, is perhaps closest to
Phyllites obscurus Knowlton,b from the Payette formation of
Idaho. This latter species, however, is elliptical-lanceolate or
slightly ovate-lanceolate, while ours is distinctly obovate-lanceolate.
The petiole and midrib are similar, and both also lack details of
nervation. Perhaps a larger series might show them to grade
together.
Locality.Van Horn's ranch, about 12 miles
west of Mount Vernon, Grant County, Oregon. Collected by Knowlton and
Merriam, July, 1901 (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 8547).
a Foss. Pl. Aurif. Gravel, p. 4, Pl. I, figs.
1117; Cret. and Tert. Fl., p.265, Pl. XLV, figs. 5, 6.
b Eighteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv., Pl. III, p.
711, Pl. XCIX, figs. 10, 11, 1888.
PHYLLITES PERSONATUS n. sp.
Pl. XVI, fig. 4.
Leaf evidently thick and leathery in texture,
narrowly obovate lanceolate in shape, long, wedge-shaped at base,
acuminate at apex; margin perfectly entire; midrib very thin, almost
disappearing above; secondaries three or four pairs, very thin and
obscure, the two lower pairs close together near the base of the blade,
at an acute angle, passing up for a long distance, camptodrome and
apparently joining the one next above; nervilles obscure, apparently
arising at an acute angle from the secondaries and soon lost; finer
nervation not satisfactorily discernible.
The single specimen figured is all I have seen of
this form. It is a small leaf, about 4.5 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide,
being slightly obovate-lanceolate in shape. From the faint impression of
the nervation as well as the wrinkled appearance it is inferred that the
leaf was of thick and leathery texture.
Locality.Cherry Creek, Crook County,
Oregon. Collected by Knowlton and Merriam, July, 1901 (U. S. Nat. Mus.,
No. 8554).