Revisions to the Eocene carpoflora of Anjou, western France, with new data from X-ray tomography

Selected fruits and seeds preserved as molds and casts in sediments from the Anjou flora of Maine-et-Loire have been reexamined with the aid of X-ray tomography. Virtual casts and surface renderings from micro-CT scanning data reveal external and internal morphological characters that were not visible by standard reflected light microscopy. Application of this methodology leads to a revision of the fruit formerly treated as Juglandicarya. It is a 5-valved capsule of likely sapindalean affnity, and is placed in Vaudoisia gruetii (Vaudois-Miéja) gen. et. comb. nov. A seed with the characteristic rumination of Anonaspermum is also recognized for the #rst time, as are capsular fruits of Ericaceae. We note that many disseminules are hidden from optical viewing because they are buried within the hand samples. A more extensive micro-CT scan investigation of more samples, including those showing only fossil leaf impressions at the surface, may be expected to yield a wealth of new information on this classic flora.

Citation

Strullu-Derrien, C., Spencer, A. R. T., Kenrick, P., Judd, W. S., De Franceschi, D., & Manchester, S. R. (2022). Revisions to the Eocene carpoflora of Anjou, western France, with new data from X-ray tomography. Botany Letters, 169(4), 454–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/23818107.2022.2101518

Type

Journal Article

Item Description

ISSN

2381-8107

EISSN

2381-8115