SMILAX WARDII Lesq.
SMILAX WARDII Lesq., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XI,
p. 19, Pl. XIII, fig. 1, 1888.
The type specimen, with its counterpart, is all that
has ever been obtained.
Locality.Van Horn's ranch, South Fork of
John Day River, 12 miles west of Mount Vernon, Oregon. Collected by Maj.
Charles E. Bendire (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 2613).
MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANT.
Pl. I, figs. 7, 8.
Among the collections lately obtained by the
University of California I found two examples of what are undoubtedly
monocotyledonous plants, the nature of which I am at present unable to
satisfactorily describe. They are shown as well as possible in the
accompanying figures.
The one shown in fig. 7 is about 6.5 cm. in length,
as now preserved, and 1.5 cm. in width. it is bifurcate at apex into two
nearly equal, acute lobes. It is provided with some 8 or 9 longitudinal
ribs, separated by rather deep channels.
The other, shown in fig. 8, is rather
elliptical-lanceolate in shape and is apparently acuminate at apex, but
the extreme point and the base are not preserved. It is the same length
as the other, but is a little wider, being 1.75 cm. It is likewise
provided with 8 or 9 ribs, between which are numerous finer striae or
veins. The basal end is truncated, as though it was a sheathing organ of
some kind.
In general appearance these specimens, and especially
the one last mentioned, are at least suggestive of what Lesquereux a has
described as Podozamites oblongus, from the Dakota group of Kansas, but
this is without the prominent ribs seen in our specimens. This
resemblance can hardly be more than superficial, and we must await
future material before the status of these specimens can be definitely
settled.
Locality.Bridge Creek, Oregon. Collected
by Merriam's party of 1900 (types in Mus. Univ. Cal., Nos. 2500,
2501).
a Tert. Fl., p.28, Pl. I, figs. 10, 11, 1878.