CUTICULAR ANALYSIS OF EOCENE LEAVES OF OCOTEA OBTUSIFOLIA

Abstract

D ilcheb , D avid L. (Yale U., New Haven, Conn.) Cuticular analysis of Eocene leaves of Ocotea obtusifolia. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(1): 1–8. IIlus. 1963.—Several specimens of Ocotea obtusifolia collected from the Eocene clays at Puryear, Tennessee, were examined in detail. The megascopic and cuticular features of the leaves are described and their variations discussed. The lower epidermis was found to be less variable and a better tool to use in the cuticular analysis of this species than the upper epidermis. The cuticle of several genera and species of modern Lauraceae were also examined. Since none could be identified with the fossil cuticle, the designation Ocotea obtusifolia as based on megascopic characters is satisfactory.