Palaeocarya puryearensis (Berry)

Na, Yuling, Blanchard, Jane & Wang, Hongshan, 2019, Fruits, seeds and flowers from the Puryear clay pit (middle Eocene Cockfield Formation), western Tennessee, USA, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 49) 23 (3), pp. 1-57 : 21

Palaeocarya puryearensis (Berry) Manchester, 1987

Figure 25

1916 Engelhardtia puryearensis Berry , p. 185, pl. 17, figs. 6, 7.

1930 Engelhardtia puryearensis Berry , p. 60–62.

1976 Paraoreomunnea puryearensis (Berry) Dilcher, Potter and Crepet ; Dilcher, Potter and Crepet, p. 536–537, figs. 7–15, 22, 23.

1987 Palaeocarya puryearensis (Berry) Manchester; Manchester, p. 45–53, figs. E–H.

Description. “Trilobate winged fruit with individual lobes conspicuous. Shape of central wing variable, oblanceolate or narrow elliptic; lateral wings narrow oblong, oblanceolate, or narrow elliptic. Wing apex may vary from obtuse to rounded, or sometimes from truncate to emarginate. Each lobe has a prominent midvein extending the length of the lobes with two prominent sub- ordinate lateral veins generally extending 2/3 to 3/4 the length of each lobe. The angle between the midveins of the lateral wings and central wing is variable (50° to 65°). The central wing size ranges from 24–40 mm x 5–10 mm and averages about 30 mm long x 8 mm wide. The lateral wings range from 14–20 mm x 5–8 mm and average about 17 mm long x 6 mm wide. Conspicuous secondary veins extend at nearly right angles or arch slightly between the three primary veins in the central and lateral wings. Camptodromous secondary and tertiary veins are common between the lateral primary veins and the margin of the wings. The ultimate venation forms an intercostal mesh of closed veinlets. Fourth lobe of adaxial bract often not preserved but when preserved, the bract covers the nut and extends beyond it. It is fan shaped and about twice the size of the nut. The margin of the 4th lobe is somewhat lobate, and the venation consists of 6–8 primary veins radiating from the central basal area of the lobe. Flat arching secondary veins form numerous interconnections between the primary veins and the ultimate venation consists of a mesh of closed veinlets. The surface of all the lobes is often dotted with numerous discoid peltate glands. The nut is generally 5 mm in diameter and round to slightly prolate in outline. The fruit partitions are probably 8-celled (certainly 4-celled or more). Stigma, style, and sepals persist; sepals 1.75 mm long, style and stigma 1.75 long and probably with carinal orientation terminating in subglobose stigmatic area. Sepal lobes extend about the same length as the style and stigma, probably 4 sepal lobes present surrounding the style, standing erect or arching outward” (Dilcher et al., 1976, pp. 536–537).

Number of specimens examined. 6. UF15820- 001950, 002214, 002178, 002234, 004863, CONN-p410.

Remarks. Berry (1916b, 1930) first reported two specimens from the Puryear locality, Tennessee and assigned them to the extant genus, Engelhardia . Based on more specimens from the Puryear locality, Tennessee and the Lamkin locality, Kentucky, Dilcher et al. (1976) proposed a form name , Paraoreomunnea , because these fossils differ from extant Oreomunnea fruits in venation pattern (e.g., wing lobe prominently tri-veined and midrib of the each lobe extending directly to the apex in the fossil fruit rather than branching into smaller veins before reaching apex), in the presence of the 4 th lobe (prophyllum), in the nature of the sepals and styles (e.g., style with two long, curving stigmatic arms), and in the general shape. Manchester (1987) revised this to Palaeocarya puryearensis , because the older generic name, Palaeocarya (Saporta, 1873) has priority for these Oreomunnea -like fossil fruits.

Figures

FIGURE 25. Palaeocarya puryearensis (Berry) Manchester, 1987: 1) 15820-00410 (CONN), showing trilobate fruit wing and bilobed prophyllum (indicated by arrows). Scale bar equals 3 mm; 2) Enlargement of Figure 25.1 to show bilobed prophyllum (indicated by arrows). Scale bar equals 1 mm; 3) UF15820-001950, showing the central bract and poorly preserved lateral bracts. Scale bar equals 3 mm; 4) Enlargement of the left portion of the central bract to show venation and trichomes (indicated by arrow). Scale bar equals 1 mm; 5) UF15820-002214, showing the central bract and one lateral bract. Arrow indicates the prophyllum. Scale bar equals 3 mm.