Geological Survey Bulletin 204 Fossil Flora of the John Day Basin, Oregon

INCERTÆ SEDES.

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).

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a Foss. Pl. Aurif. Gravel, p. 4, Pl. I, figs. 11—17; 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.

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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).