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ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDIES OF FOSSIL PLANT CUTICLES. II. TARPHYDERMA GEN. N., A CRETACEOUS CONIFER FROM ARGENTINA
Author(s) -
Archangelsky Sergio,
Taylor Thomas N.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1986.tb10909.x
Subject(s) - biology , cretaceous , ultrastructure , leafy , botany , guard cell , paleontology
Tarphyderma glabra is a leafy shoot of early Cretaceous age from Santa Cruz, Argentina. The leaves, often found isolated, are hypostomatic with the guard cells more or less deeply sunken in suprastomatal chambers. Each chamber is formed by a ring of irregularly elongated cells that may have regulated the opening of the stoma. The cuticle membrane of both the upper and lower surface is thick and can be subdivided into distinct layers based on ultrastructural features and position on the leaf. A cutinized hypodermis is present. The plant, a conifer of uncertain affinities, is compared with other taxa characterized by deeply sunken guard cells.