Abstract Detail

Paleobotanical Section

Smith, Joseph B. [1], Stegall, Matthew [2], Mickle, James [3].

The Cretaceous-age Fossil Fern Tempskya from North Carolina, U. S. A.

The Cretaceous-age fern Tempskya has long been known to occur in reworked deposits in North Carolina. While there have been numerous collections of this material, there have been few attempts to systematically describe these fossils. North Carolina Tempskya specimens are silicified and have been recovered from aggregate mines in Harnett County, near Lillington. The specimens have been recovered from surface deposits and show clear evidence of reworking. All other known species of Tempskya are of Cretaceous age, so it is unlikely that these reworked specimens are younger than Cretaceous; fossil-plant bearing sediments of Late Cretaceous age are well known to occur throughout eastern North Carolina. In addition, the North Carolina Tempskya fossils are found associated with Cretaceous-age fossil conifer and dicot wood, and rare specimens of fossil palms. Tempskya false trunks consist of numerous vertical stems with petioles surrounded by a compact mat of adventitious roots. The false trunks in the present material are radially symmetrical, and specimens studied are up to 18.5 cm in diameter. Stems are 4-8 mm in diameter, two-ranked, dichotomizing, with medium length internodes, and commonly 1-2, rarely 3, leaf traces in cross section. Adventitious roots are diarch. Earlier workers had tentatively identified this Tempskya as T. grandis Reed and Brown, however, the present analysis indicates that the North Carolina Tempskya material differs markedly from T. grandis in number of petiole bases per transverse section of stem. Characteristics displayed by the specimens from North Carolina suggest that the material is a previously unrecognized species of Tempskya.

Broader Impacts:

1 - 7202 Red Bush Ct., Indian Trail, NC, 28079, USA
2 - 606 Ivah Lee Way, Monroe, NC, 28110, USA
3 - North Carolina State University, Department of Plant Biology, Campus Box 7612, 2115 Gardner Hall, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7612, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PPB002
Abstract ID:232
Candidate for Awards:None