Arecoideostrobus moorei gen. et sp. nov., a palm rachilla from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of India

Abstract

A petrifted part of a rachilla from an inflorescence of Arecaceae has been described from the Deccan Intertrappean beds exposed at Nawargaon-Maragsur area of Wardha District, Maharashtra, India. The inflorescence shows a spiral arrangement of flower triads, each triad in a pit with a central large pistillate flower having a two whorled perianth and a superior ovary flanked on either side by a small staminate flower. The inflorescence axis exhibits wide variable cortex with ftbre bundles and empty sacs, a reduced vascular region with a very compact arrangement of fibrovascular bundles, floral traces and diminutive and fusion bundles enclosing a small pith. Morphological and anatomical characters ofthe rachilla suggest its affinity with the members of sub-family Arecoideae of the family Arelaceae.