Ranunculaceae JUSS.

Smith, MacKenzie A., Greenwalt, Dale E. & Manchester, Steven R., 2023, Diverse Fruits And Seeds Of The Mid-Eocene Kishenehn Formation, Northwestern Montana, Usa, And Their Implications For Biogeography, Fossil Imprint 79 (1), pp. 37-88 : 51

Family Ranunculaceae JUSS.

Genus cf. Thalictrum L.

Text-fig. 6b

M a t e r i a l. USNM PAL 722388.

L o c a l i t y. Dakin.

D e s c r i p t i o n. Follicle 2.6 mm long, 1.4 mm wide at the widest; bulbous with one end tapering to a point and the antipodal side ending with a small cylinder measuring 0.4 mm tall and 0.5 mm wide; seven parallel striations 0.1 mm wide extend longitudinally.

R e m a r k s. Longitudinal ribbing along a chimney lamp-shaped follicle is characteristic of Thalictrum . Fossil Thalictrum fruits are known from the Oligocene and Miocene of Europe ( Szafer 1961, Dorofeev 1963, Mai 1995) and the Pleistocene of Nepal ( Bhandari et al. 2009, 2010, 2011). If confirmed, this would be the oldest Thalictrium ca. 20 Ma older than estimates for crown of that genus ( Soza et al. 2013).

Figures

Text-fig. 6. a: USNM PAL 625188 cf. Ceratophyllum fruit. Scale bar 1mm. b: USNM PAL 722388 cf. Thalictrum sp. Scale bar 2mm. c: USNM PAL 622299 Platanus sp. achene with prominent seed body. Scale bar 2mm. d: USNM PAL 768140 Platanus sp. achene with dispersal hairs. Scale bar 2mm. e: Close-up of USNM PAL 768140 Platanus sp. achene with red arrows pointing to dispersal hairs. Scale bar 2mm. f: USNM PAL 622299 Platanus sp. achene with red arrows pointing to hairs. Scale bar 2mm. g: USNM PAL 623312 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus. Scale bar 1mm. h: USNM PAL 625269 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus. Scale bar 1mm. i: USNM PAL 625257 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with highly curved wing. Scale bar 1mm. j: USNM PAL 624499 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus. Scale bar 1mm. k: USNM PAL 622294 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with raphe wrapping along wing towards the chalazal end of the seed body. Scale bar 1mm. l: USNM PAL 717434 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with raphe wrapping along wing towards the chalazal end of the seed body. Scale bar 1mm. m: USNM PAL 625251 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with raphe wrapping along wing towards the chalazal end of the seed body. Scale bar 1mm. n: USNM PAL 625541 elongated winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with raphe wrapping along wing towards the chalazal end of the seed body. Scale bar 1mm. o: USNM PAL 625286 elongated winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus. Scale bar 1mm. p: USNM PAL 624179 winged seed of Carpolithes lunatus with raphe wrapping along wing towards the chalazal end of the seed body. Scale bar 1mm. q: USNM PAL 620034 cf. Jenkinsella knowltonii. Scale bar 2mm.