Some macroscopic plant-remains reffered to the betulaceæ from the Karewa Deposits of Kashmir

Summary

• 1 The present paper describes some fossil remains of the Betulaceæ from collections made by Middlemiss, Stewart and the author from the Lower Karewa Deposits of Kashmir, exposed along the Pir Panjal side of the valley at Liddarmarg, Ningal Nullah and Laredura. The material includes fossil leaves belonging toBetula utilis, Betula alnoides, Betula sp. A (which does not compare with any modern species of the Himalayas),Alnus nepalensis,Alnus nitida and a few female cones ofBetula sp. andAlnus sp. (which could not be determined specifically on account of the fragmentary nature of the specimens); a number of impressions, which favourably compare with thin sheets from the outer bark ofBetula utilis are also present.

• 2. Of the four well-determined species, only one(Betula utilis) occurs in the Kashmir Valley at the present time; the other three species, though still occurring in the neighbouring regions, are absent from the Kashmir Valley proper, the northern slopes of the Pir Panjal Range and the southern slopes of the Main Himalayas.

• 3. The past and present distribution of the Betulaceæ is briefly discussed.

• 4. A comparison of the past and present distribution of the Betulaceæ does not alter the general conclusions, which were derived by the author from the general distribution of the Karewa flora as a whole.