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Vegetative and reproductive morphology of an extinct plane tree ( Platanaceae) from the Eocene of western North America ( USA).

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Steven R Manchester at Florida Museum of Natural History
Steven R Manchester
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Abstract

An extinct type of plane tree, common in Middle to Late Eocene of Oregon, is reconstructed as a 'whole plant' on the basis of repeated co-occurrence of isolated platanaceous organs at numerous localities. The leaves, Macginitiea angustiloba (Lesq.) comb.nov., resemble those of some modern Platanus species except in features associated with a narrower angle between adjacent primary veins. The pistillate inflorescences, Macginicarpa glabra gen. et sp.nov., and staminate inflorescences, Platananthus synandrus gen. et sp.nov., both have florets with well-developed perianths and whorls of five carpels or stamens. The reconstructed plant combines features of both extant subgenera of Platanus with a suite of unique characters that distinguish it as an extinct genus in the Platanaceae. Differences in perianth development, fruit indumentum, and pollen size between the Clarno Plane and Platanus indicate that the modern genus may be more specialized for wind dispersal of fruits and pollen than was the Eocene plant.-from Author
1986 Macginiti
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Vegetative and Reproductive Morphology of an Extinct Plane Tree (Platanaceae) from the
Eocene of Western North America
Author(s): Steven R. Manchester
Source:
Botanical Gazette,
Vol. 147, No. 2 (Jun., 1986), pp. 200-226
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2474500
Accessed: 04/09/2008 23:15
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... The basal position of the Platanaceae in Eudicots makes the family very important in the systematics of Eudicots [9][10][11][12]. The extant Platanaceae includes only one genus, Platanus, with 7-9 species scattered in the temperate to tropical regions of North America, Europe as well as southeastern Asia [12,13]. The diversity of the family used to be much greater than today [14][15][16][17]. ...
... The diversity of the family used to be much greater than today [14][15][16][17]. Their fossil record starts from the Early Cretaceous, and is widely distributed in Greenland, Europe, North America, and Asia [10,11,13,. The oldest record goes back to the Aptian [36], but the records become abundant since the Albian [9,17,22,23,[29][30][31][32][33]35,37]. ...
The First Sign of the Complication of Angiosperm-Related Ecosystem
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Angiosperms and insects are two most diverse groups of macroscopic organisms, and their relationship plays an important role in the current ecosystem. An angiosperm is usually attacked by multiple insects in the current ecosystem, which is a proxy of the complication of the ecosystem. However, such a complicate relationship appears lacking in the ecosystem for early angiosperms, which are usually attacked by only one type of insects. Therefore, when the complicate angiosperm-related ecosystem emerged is an important unanswered question. Here we document a new platanaceous species, Arthollia dayangshuensis gen. et sp. nov from the Nenjiang Formation (late Santonian-early Campanian, Late Cretaceous) with three different kinds of damages, suggesting that the ecological relationship between angiosperms and insects was already complicate in the Santonian. This surprising discovery implies that angiosperm-related ecosystem has already existed in the Late Cretaceous. To this date, this is the first sign of such a complicating process.
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... 5d). Macginitea leaves co-occur commonly with Macginicarpa infructescences at many Paleogene sites in western North America, suggesting they may represent the same biological taxon (Manchester 1986, 2014, Pigg and Stockey 1991. Individual fruitlets with a prominent basal tuft of hairs like those seen in modern Platanus L. are also present at Horsefly (Text- fig. ...
... 5e, g). These differ from Macginicarpa fruitlets which are exclusively glabrous (Manchester 1986). ...
The early Eocene flora of Horsefly, British Columbia, Canada and its phytogeographic significance
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  • Jan 2023
About forty species, including a bryophyte, ferns, conifers, Ginkgo, and over 35 angiosperms, are recognized based on compression-impression remains from the early Eocene of Horsefly, British Colombia, Canada. This flora is in the north central part of a chain of late early Eocene fossil assemblages known as floras of the “Okanagan Highlands” (= “Okanogan Highlands” in the US). These floras extend from north central British Columbia, Canada southeast to Republic, Washington, USA. The Horsefly flora shows similarities to other Eocene Okanagan Highlands floras, such as McAbee, Falkland, Thomas Ranch and Republic, but with some additional rare taxa. In the broader sense, the Horsefly flora can be compared with early and middle Eocene floras of eastern Asia and midcontinental North America, but shares fewer elements with Europe. Ginkgo, Metasequoia, Pinus, Palaeocarpinus, ulmaceous leaves and Deviacer are shared with northeastern China as well as western North American sites. Fagopsis, Macginitiea, Dipteronia, Florissantia, Sassafras and Lagokarpos also occur in other western North American Eocene floras and Koelreuteria and Jenkinsella with Eocene paleofloras of China. These comparisons demonstrate probable floristic exchange between northwestern North America and northeastern China via a Beringian route during the late early Eocene.
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... Discussion-These achenes are consistent with those of extant Platanus (Manchester 1986) in shape and presence of a basal tuft of dispersal hairs (Fig. 1M). Isolated fossil Platanus achenes are also found in the Whitecap Knoll and Bridge Creek floras (Table 2). ...
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... In contrast, Platanaceae had a much wider distribution and were highly diverse during the Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene (e.g. Manchester 1986Manchester , 2014Friis et al. 1988Friis et al. , 2011Friis & Crane 1989;Crane et al. 1993;Magall on-Puebla et al. 1997;Kva cek et al. 2001;Maslova 2003;Kva cek & Manchester 2004;Golovneva 2007Golovneva , 2008Tschan et al. 2008;Wang et al. 2011;Kodrul et al. 2013;Mindell et al. 2014;Huegele & Wang 2023; at least 35 genera and more than 50 species). ...
On the origin of the Oriental plane tree ( Platanus orientalis L.)
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  • Jul 2024
Oriental plane tree ( Platanus orientalis ) is native to the East Mediterranean region and sister to three western North American species, together forming the Pacific North American–European (PNA‐E) clade. Its sister clade, comprising several eastern North American–Mexican species, has been termed the Atlantic North American (ANA) clade. The origins of P. orientalis and the western North American–western Eurasian disjunction in the PNA‐E clade are poorly understood, with the North Atlantic and Bering land bridges being possible corridors for trans‐continental migration. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggested ancient hybridization between the ANA and PNA‐E clades prior to differentiation of modern species' lineages. We traced ANA‐ and PNA‐E‐specific leaf traits in the fossil record to locate areas of possible ancient hybridization. Leaf traits characteristic of the PNA‐E clade occurred in western North America (late Eocene of Montana, Early Miocene of Alaska) prior to appearing in the European fossil record. Fossil‐species with mixed PNA‐E–ANA leaf traits occurred in the Oligocene of Central Asia and Eocene and Miocene of western North America. In contrast, eastern North America and the Atlantic region hosted fossil‐species with leaf traits characteristic of modern ANA clade members. We propose that precursors of Platanus orientalis migrated to Europe via Beringia and through Central Asia. Initially, these Eurasian ancestors possessed ancestral PNA‐E clade leaf morphologies, which were gradually replaced by P. orientalis ‐specific traits. Treated as a single fossil‐species, we document the evolution of P. academiae from predominately three‐lobed leaves in Miocene strata to narrowly five‐lobed leaves resembling modern P. orientalis in younger deposits of Greece.
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... The flora of the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation in Utah and Colorado, which included the Palibinia species treated here, was composed of a diversity of angiosperms, some with clear affinities to extant families such as Hernandiaceae (Illigera; Manchester & O′Leary, 2010), Menispermaceae (Han et al., 2018), Arecaceae (Allen, 2015), Araceae (Kvaček, 1995), Platanaceae (MacGinitie, 1969;Manchester, 1986), Juglandaceae (Manchester, 1987a), Ulmaceae (Manchester, 1987b), Fabaceae (MacGinitie, 1969;Call & Dilcher, 1994), Anacardiaceae (Manchester & Judd, 2022), Simaroubaceae (Corbett & Manchester, 2004), Myrtaceae , Vitaceae (Chen & Manchester, 2007), Salicaceae (Boucher et al., 2003;Manchester et al., 2006), Eucommiaceae (Call & Dilcher, 1997), Polemoniaceae (Lott et al., 1998), and Tetramelaceae (Correa-Narvaez et al., 2023). However, many of the taxa reported in prior monographs of the flora (e.g., Knowlton, 1923;Cockerell, 1925;Brown, 1934;MacGinitie, 1969) are in need of revision. ...
Manchester et al 2024 First recognition of the extinct eudicot genus Palibinia in North America
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
Newly investigated leafy twigs bearing axillary fruits from the Eocene Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation in eastern Utah, USA, have provided more information on the species previously attributed to the Proteaceae as Banksia comptonifolia R.W.Br. The leaves are simple, estipulate with short petioles, and elongate laminae with prominent angular nonglandular teeth. The laminae have a thick midvein and pinnate craspedodromous secondaries, and are distinctive in the presence of a thick, often coalified, marginal rim. Vegetative and reproductive buds occur in the axils of the leaves. These features indicate that the species belongs to Palibinia Korovin-an extinct Eudicot genus previously known only from the Paleogene of Asia and Europe. Small pedicellate ovoid fruits 1.5-2.2 mm wide are borne in fascicles of three and are seen to be capsules with four apical valves. Despite the specific epithet referring to similarity of the foliage to that of Comptonia (Myricaceae), the fasciculate inflorescence organization with axillary flowers is quite distinct from the catkins characteristic of that family. Assignment to Banksia or other Proteaceae with complex inflorescences and follicular fruits is also problematic. Additionally, MacGinitie′s transfer of the species to Vauquelinia of the Rosaceae is contradicted by the lack of stipule scars on the twig and by differences in leaf venation and floral morphology. We transfer the species to Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov., but its familial affinity within the Pentapetalae remains uncertain. This new occurrence augments records from the Paleogene of Turkmenistan,
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... The flora of the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation in Utah and Colorado, which included the Palibinia species treated here, was composed of a diversity of angiosperms, some with clear affinities to extant families such as Hernandiaceae (Illigera; Manchester & O′Leary, 2010), Menispermaceae (Han et al., 2018), Arecaceae (Allen, 2015), Araceae (Kvaček, 1995), Platanaceae (MacGinitie, 1969;Manchester, 1986), Juglandaceae (Manchester, 1987a), Ulmaceae (Manchester, 1987b), Fabaceae (MacGinitie, 1969;Call & Dilcher, 1994), Anacardiaceae (Manchester & Judd, 2022), Simaroubaceae (Corbett & Manchester, 2004), Myrtaceae , Vitaceae (Chen & Manchester, 2007), Salicaceae (Boucher et al., 2003;Manchester et al., 2006), Eucommiaceae (Call & Dilcher, 1997), Polemoniaceae (Lott et al., 1998), and Tetramelaceae (Correa-Narvaez et al., 2023). However, many of the taxa reported in prior monographs of the flora (e.g., Knowlton, 1923;Cockerell, 1925;Brown, 1934;MacGinitie, 1969) are in need of revision. ...
2024 Palibinia Mancheste and Kodrul
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
Newly investigated leafy twigs bearing axillary fruits from the Eocene Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation in eastern Utah, USA, have provided more information on the species previously attributed to the Proteaceae as Banksia comptonifolia R.W.Br. The leaves are simple, estipulate with short petioles, and elongate laminae with prominent angular nonglandular teeth. The laminae have a thick midvein and pinnate craspedodromous secondaries, and are distinctive in the presence of a thick, often coalified, marginal rim. Vegetative and reproductive buds occur in the axils of the leaves. These features indicate that the species belongs to Palibinia Korovin-an extinct Eudicot genus previously known only from the Paleogene of Asia and Europe. Small pedicellate ovoid fruits 1.5-2.2 mm wide are borne in fascicles of three and are seen to be capsules with four apical valves. Despite the specific epithet referring to similarity of the foliage to that of Comptonia (Myricaceae), the fasciculate inflorescence organization with axillary flowers is quite distinct from the catkins characteristic of that family. Assignment to Banksia or other Proteaceae with complex inflorescences and follicular fruits is also problematic. Additionally, MacGinitie′s transfer of the species to Vauquelinia of the Rosaceae is contradicted by the lack of stipule scars on the twig and by differences in leaf venation and floral morphology. We transfer the species to Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov., but its familial affinity within the Pentapetalae remains uncertain. This new occurrence augments records from the Paleogene of Turkmenistan,
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... Other important elements of the Thanetian palynoflora include Alnipollenites verus (Alnus in family Betulaceae, alders and birches; Nichols, 2010) and Triporopollenites infrequens (Betulaceae; Nichols & Brown, 1992), both of which commonly occupy inundated habitats in temperate regions (Furlow, 1979;Yang et al., 2022). Two members of the sycamore family Platanaceae are also found in most Thanetian samples: Tricolpites hians (possibly Platanus; Zavada & Dilcher, 1986;Denk & Tekleva, 2006), and T. vegrandis (associated with megafossils of Macginitiea and Platananthus; Manchester, 1986;Korasidis et al., 2023). Platanaceae today grow in warm to cool, wet climates (Feng et al., 2005;Nixon & Poole, 2003), and Paleocene megafossils are most common in proximal fluvial deposits (Wing, 1984). ...
Palynofloral Change Through the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming
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Full-text available
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To better understand the effect of the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) on continental ecosystems, we studied 40 new palynological samples from the Bighorn Basin (BHB), northwestern Wyoming, USA. We see palm and fern abundances increase in the last 20–40 ka of the Paleocene, then dramatically with the onset of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) defining the base of the PETM. Palynomorphs of plant groups with modern temperate climate distributions are absent from the CIE body, and this is when tropical plants are most diverse and abundant. During the CIE recovery, pollen of mesophytic/wetland plants become more common while tropical taxa persist. In the post‐CIE early Eocene tropical taxa are rare and temperate forms abundant, similar to the late but not latest Paleocene. Changes in the palynoflora are more easily detected if reworked palynomorphs are removed from analyses. We interpret palynofloral changes to indicate warming in the latest Paleocene, rapid warming and drying with the CIE onset, dry tropical climates through the CIE body, a return to wetter floodplains during a very warm CIE recovery, and cooler wet conditions in the post‐PETM early Eocene. These inferences are consistent with geochemical and paleobotanical proxies. Strikingly similar patterns in the palynoflora and megaflora suggest changes in vegetation were a basin‐wide phenomenon. These rapid, climatically forced changes in floral composition occurred without major extinction, perhaps indicating nearby refugia in which plants adapted to cooler and wetter climates persisted through the PETM.
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First Evidence of Damage by Micromycetes on Infructescences of Cretaceous Genus Friisicarpus N. Maslova et Herman (Platanaceae)
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Morphologically similar damage of carpels of two Friisicarpus species (Platanaceae), F. kubaensis (Western Siberia, Albian–Cenomanian) and F. sarbaensis (Western Kazakhstan, Cenomanian–Turonian) induced by micromycetes have been described for the first time. Fruiting bodies of the micromycetes are developed within the tissues, forming tubercles on the carpel surfaces. Morphology of the fruiting bodies, their distribution on the substrate, as well as dropping out of the substrate after maturation bring them together with some modern representatives of Pleosporales. A possible role of insects in the transferring of fungal spores and participation of arthropods in the pollination of early Platanaceae are discussed.
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Diverse fruits and seeds of the mid-Eocene Kishenehn Formation, northwestern Montana, USA, and their implications for biogeography
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  • Jan 2023
Lacustrine shales of the Kishenehn Formation of northwestern Montana provide an important window to the local mid-Eocene (Lutetian) ecosystem including evidence from insects, molluscs, vertebrates and plants. However, little has been published on the macrofossils flora, which includes abundant compressed fruits and seeds as well as foliage. Here we provide a preliminary survey, with particular attention to reproductive remains from the Middle Fork Region. Identified families include Equisetaceae, Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Betulaceae, Brassicaceae, Cercidiphyllaceae, Eucommiaceae, Juglandaceae, Oleaceae, Platanaceae, Rutaceae, Salicaceae, Sapindaceae, Simaroubaceae and Ulmaceae. With at least 107 entities, this is among the most diverse lacustrine megafossil floras in North America. This flora shares elements with the early to mid-Eocene Green River Parachute Creek Member flora of Colorado and Utah, the Thunder Mountain flora of Idaho and the Okanogan Highland floras of British Columbia and Republic, Washington, as well as some with the late Eocene Ruby flora of Montana. We estimate the mean annual temperature to have been between 8.91 and 12.10 °C and mean annual precipitation to have been between 945 and 1,204 mm using the Bioclimatic Analysis/Mutual Climate Range Technique. This summary of floral elements complements the faunal record of the Kishenehn Formation and fills a gap in prior knowledge of the paleofloristic distributions.
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Revisiting the Iconic Macginitiea Plant and Its Implications for Biogeography, Basilaminar Lobe Development, and Evolution in Platanaceae
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2023
Premise of research. Macginitiea is an iconic and easily recognizable genus well known from the Paleogene of western North America and Kamchatka. Here we recognize new species and occurrences of Macginitiea from multiple sites in North America and discuss their implications for biogeography and evolution. Methodology. We studied leaves and inflorescences from multiple sites across North America. We used microcomputed tomography scans to illustrate the floret anatomy of Macginicarpa from Texas. Cuticles were exam- ined using epifluorescence microscopy and maceration in Jeffrey’s solution. Pivotal results. The distribution of Macginitiea suggests transberingial migration, similar to that in other platanoids like Platimeliphyllum. Macginitiea lived as far south as central Texas; few fossil platanoids are known from southern latitudes, even though most living Platanus species occur below 307N. We document the cuticle anatomy of M. whitneyi, revealing a heavily striated cuticle with circular hair bases. Newly recognized species include those with a striking proclivity for basilaminar lobe development, including M. rannii sp. nov. from the Eocene of Wyoming, M. basilobata comb. nov. from the Paleocene of Montana, and M. rileyi comb. nov. from the Eocene of Texas and New Mexico. We also revise the taxonomy of Aralia wardiana (formerly Aralia digitata) and Platanus browni and show their affinities to Macginitiea. Using a broad concept of the gene regulatory networks governing lobe and stipule de- velopment, we hypothesize how different Macginitiea leaves could have developed their basilaminar lobes. Conclusions. We find that Macginitiea had a greater taxonomic diversity and a wider geographic range than was previously known. Among this diversity are several species with substantial basilaminar lobe development. Basilaminar lobes in modern and fossil platanoids tend to develop only when a leaf produces at or near the max- imum number of lobes for that taxon. Influence of the same gene regulatory network may explain the similar appearance of stipules and basilaminar extensions in Platanaceae.
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IN SITU CERCIDIPHYLLUM-LIKE SEEDLINGS FROM THE PALEOCENE OF ALBERTA, CANADA
Article
  • Nov 1983
Fossil seedlings and seeds of an extinct Cercidiphyllum-like plant occur in the Paskapoo Formation (Late Paleocene) at Joffre Bridge near Red Deer, Alberta. Cotyledon and early seedling leaf stages are preserved in growth position. Morphological details of seedlings and seeds support a close relationship between the Paleocene fossils and extant Cercidiphyllum, and suggest that during the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary (Paleogene) Cercidiphyllum-like plants were important early colonizers of open flood-plain environments.
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ANGIOSPERM WOOD FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA: PART I
Article
  • Apr 1967
This paper is the first in a series about a collection of 40 Upper Cretaceous woods from central California. The wood is in the form of fragments of stems and roots embedded in nodules of collophane rich in microorganisms, pollen, and spores. Two new species are described: Ulminium pattersonensis and Ulminium mulleri. Evidence presented indicates that these two specimens are similar to woods of the Lauraceae and fall well within the range of variation of woods of that family. Because the taxonomy of the Lauraceae is in need of revision, meaningful comparisons of fossil plant parts with modern taxa were found to be unfeasible.
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(Origin and evolution of the genus Platanus ( Platanaceae)).
Article
  • Jan 1982
The genus Platanus should be divided into 2 subgenera. One (subg. Platanus) has falling, palmate leaves and intra-petiolary buds, the other (subg. Castaneophyllum) has pinnately nerved, serrate leaves and free axillary buds. The subgenus Platanus is derived from a taxon near the other subgenus (which is represented today by a single species in Vietnam and Laos).-from English summary
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