Fossil wood of Gmelina Linn. (Verbenaceae) from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of Nawargaon with comments on the nomenclature of Tertiary woods

Abstract

A fossil dicotyledonous wood collected from the Deccan Intertrapean beds of Nawargaon, District Wardha, Maharashtra has been described. It has been assigned to the extant genus Gmelina Linn. Of Verbenaceae and has been described as a new species Gmelina tertiara. This is the first authentic record of the family Verbenaceae from the Deccan Intertrappean beds, which extends the antiquity of this family to the Palaeogene in the Indian Subcontinent. The problem of the nomenclature of Tertiary fossil woods has also been discussed.

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