Bulletin 3. The flora of the Raritan Formation, 1911 - State of New ...

BOTANICAL CHARACTER. 39
over 8oo species are recorded. The Raritan flora furnishes 16
species, or z37o of the total, and these belong for the most part
to the various families into which the old family Leguminoseae
has been split by modern systematists. A large number of these
Raritan species are based upon le,'fflets, whose generic relations
are not determinable with certainty. Deserving of special mention
are the 2 species o,f Bqu3#ffa which have such striking
bilobate leaves and which are well characterized and closely related
to existing forms in the American tropics.
The order Geraniales is represented in the upper Raritan of
South Amboy by a single specimen of Citrophyllu_ a_igera
(Lesq.) Berry, a widespread species in the overlying Magothy
formation and in the Dakota Group, and with modern subtropical
affinities.
In the order Sapindales there are 13 species, or 117o of the
total. They include a somewhat doubtful species of Acer, 2
of IIe,r, and a Celastr_,s, which is very abundant and is characteristic
of the upper Raritan. The genus Ce[astroph3,llu**_, which
appears in abundance in the Older Potomac flora of Ma_land and
Virginia, is especially abundant in the Cretaceous of the Atlantic
Coastal Plain. There are 9 species in the Karitan flora, several
of which are especially well marked and some are of large
size. Celastroph3,lh_m cre_atum Heer ranged from Greenland
to South Carolina, and Celastrophyllum Ne'_vberrya_,um Hollick
is an especially abundant leaf in the upper Raritan ;_t South
Amboy, occuring also in the older Raritan deposits at Sayreville.
It hag not been possible to determine from what horizons in the
Raritan Celastropl_yllu.m Britto_iaumn Holliek, and cretacem_z.
Lesq. were collectdd, ?vhlch is unfortunate, since the former has
also been found in the older Patapsco formation and the latter
in the younger Dakota Group.
There are 5 species of Rbamnales and I species of Parletales
in the Raritan, the genera present being Rhctmnites, Hedera.
Cissitex, and Passiflora.
The order Myrtales, which includes quite a number of herbaceous
species in the modern flora of this region, is represented
in the Raritan by 6 species of Eucalypt_ts, 4 04 which are
confined to the upper Raritan at South Amboy. This genus has
NEW JERSEY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY