Liriophyllum kansense Dilcher and Crane, 1984

Wang, Hongshan & Dilcher, David L., 2018, Early Cretaceous angiosperm leaves from the Dakota Formation, Hoisington III locality, Kansas, USA, Palaeontologia Electronica (34 A) 21 (3), pp. 1-49 : 18

Liriophyllum kansense Dilcher and Crane, 1984

Figure 11.2

Description. Leaf petiolate, bilobed and deeply divided. Leaf 13.5 cm long and 16 cm wide; petiole 13 cm long and 3 mm wide. Primary vein stout, 3 mm wide, extending to the base of the sinus and forking at about 45° into two prominent veins forming the leaf margin in the lower part of the sinus. Apex of the lobes broadly rounded; leaf base straight. Secondary venation pinnate, camptodromous; secondary veins alternately arranged; angle of divergence of secondary veins gradually decreasing apically; secondary veins branching and gradually becoming thinner close to the margin to form weak , camptodromous loops, typically of tertiary order. Tertiary veins more or less decurrent where they join the secondary veins and the primary vein. Toward the leaf margin, tertiary, quaternary, and quinternary veins forming polygonal areolae.

Number of specimens examined. 30.

Specimens illustrated. UF 15826-3188 ( Figure 11.2 ).

Occurrences. Linnenberger Ranch and Hoisington III localities, Kansas.

Remarks. The primary vein running to the apex and dividing into a pair of prominent veins contiguous with the lamina margin in the sinus is unique in fossil and extant angiosperm leaves. Based upon the evidence of co-occurrence and common presence of distinctive resin-bodies in both the leaves and fruits, Dilcher and Crane (1984) suggested that Liriophyllum kansense leaves and Archaeanthus , multifollicular angiosperm fruiting axes, are from the same plant species. This plant is closely related to Liriophyllum in Magnoliaceae (Romanov and Dilcher, 2013) .

Figures

FIGURE 11. 1, Jarzenia kanbrasota Wang and Dilcher, 2009, UF15706-3171, showing elliptic leaf shape and secondary venation. Scale bar equals 1 cm. 2, Liriophyllum kansense Dilcher and Crane, 1984, UF15826-3188, showing deeply lobed leaf, long petiole, and secondary venation. Scale bar equals 1 cm. 3, Credneria cyclophylla (Heer) Wang and Dilcher, 2009, UF15706-14821, leaf showing craspedodromous venation. Note all secondary veins and their exmedial branches terminating on leaf margin, resulting in a wavy appearance of leaf margin. Scale bar equals 1 cm.