Publication Date
1-22-1971
Series Number
150
Abstract
Upper Triassic beds in North Carolina yield excellently preserved compressions of ferns, cycadophytes and conifers. Among the cycadophyte remains are leaves comparable to those of the genus Pseudoctenis attached to a slender, elongated stem fragment. Other stem remains show bases of petioles with a similar arrangement. Cuticular analysis of laminae, rachises and stem surfaces suggests the existence of a member of the Cycadales with loosely arranged pinnately compound fronds on a slender stem, with cataphylls and terminal cones. Although Cycadales probably originated before the Triassic, the growth habit of only a very small number of Triassic members is known. This discovery is significant in allowing the reconstruction of one of the oldest members of the order and presents evidence that its growth habit is unlike that of later Cycadales. The slender stem and loosely spaced compound leaves point to a pteridosperm ancestry.