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Taxodium wallisii
Taxodium wallisii Aulenb., B.A. LePage Int. J. Pl. Sci., 159(2): 371. Mar 1998
- Name
- Taxodium wallisii
- Rank
- Species
- Generic Name
- [Genus] Taxodium
- Authors (Pub.)
- Aulenback K. R.
LePage B. A.
- Publication
- Taxodium wallisii sp. nov.: first occurrence of Taxodium from the Upper Cretaceous [1998/3]
- Journal
- International Journal of Plant Sciences
- Volume
- 159
- Issue
- 2
- Page number
- 371
- Year
- 1998
- Fossil Status
- leafy twigs (with reproductive organs)
- Stratigraphy
- Upper Cretaceous
- Strat. comment
- Horseshoe Canyon Formation
- Location
- Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
- Paleoregion
- America (North)
Data for Holotypus
- Repository
- Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada
- Repository Number
- TMP
88.232.6500
Data for Paratypus
- Repository
- Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada
- Repository Number
- TMP 88.232.6448, 88.232.6450, 88.232.6486, 88.232.6490,
88.232.6491, 88.232.6494, 88.232.6499, 88.232.6502,
and 94.9.6.
- Diagnosis
- Branching alternate. Leaves dimorphic, helically arranged.
Taxodioid leaves persistent, decurrent, acicular,
linear-falcate, acuminate, abaxially keeled, triangular
in cross-section, with the free portion up to 11.5
mm long, 1.0 mm wide. Cupressoid leaves persistent,
ovate, nondecurrent, up to 2.0 mm long, 1.5 mm wide,
apex acute to acuminate. Cupressoid leaves subtending
staminate axes persistent, decurrent, ovate, falcate,
with the free portion up to 5.0 mm long, 1.75 mm
wide, apex acuminate and adaxially recurved. Seed
cones arranged alternately on branch, erect, short-stalked,
globose, bearing up to 15 deciduous, helically
arranged imbricate bract-scale complexes; bracts and
scales fused into complexes. Ovuliferous scale prominently
lobed, commonly consisting of one apical and
two lateral lobes that exceed the length of the bract.
Bract rhomboidal with prominent, slightly recurved
mucro. Seeds two per scale, unequally three-angled,
4.0-9.0 mm long, 1.9-5.5 mm wide; seed-coat thick,
coriaceous; micropyle visible, up to 0.5 mm long;
seed-attachment scar linear-oblong. Staminate cones
arranged in long terminal panicles, cones occurring in
axils of cupressoid leaves; cones up to 3.0 mm in
diam, composed of up to nine helically arranged microsporphylls.
Microsporophylls peltate, ovate to orbicular,
apex slightly recurved adaxially, up to 1.0 mm
long, 1.5 mm wide, margin entire. Microsporophyll
bearing five to nine, pendulous sporangia arranged in
two rows abaxially. Pollen 14.0-(20.0)-22.5 um in
diam, elliptical to circular, minute papillate leptoma.
Papillae less than 2.0 um long. Exine smooth to scabrate,
thinner near leptoma than on the proximal face. Exine with irregularly distributed Ubisch bodies.