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(American Journal of Botany. 2005;92:709-721.)
© 2005 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Paleobotany

Cuticular anatomy of Sphenobaiera huangii (Ginkgoales) from the Lower Jurassic of Hubei, China1

Yongdong Wang2,6, Gaëtan Guignard3, Frédéric Thévenard3, David Dilcher4,6, Georges Barale3, Volker Mosbrugger5, Xiaoju Yang2 and Shengwu Mei2

2Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China; 3Paléobotanique et FRE 2158 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, Bâtiment Darwin-A, 7 rue Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France; 4Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800 USA; 5Institute of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Sigwartstrasse10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

ABSTRACT

Sphenobaiera huangii (Sze) Hsü is typical Early Mesozoic fossil foliage of Ginkgoales in China. It has been recorded from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Jurassic. The cuticular anatomy is investigated based on material from the type locality, Lower Jurassic Hsiangchi Formation, Zigui County, Hubei Province. The specimens are similar to S. huangii, but contain new information about leaf morphology and cuticular anatomy. Lower and upper cuticle is investigated using light and electron microscopy (LM, SEM, and TEM). Many features are described for the first time, including general structures of lower and upper cuticle, stomata, papillae, and cuticular ultrastructure. At the ultrastructural level, two layers have been distinguished in both lower and upper cuticle, including a homogeneous outer layer with granules and a heterogeneous inner layer with fibrils. Based on a literature comparison between S. huangii and other relevant species of Sphenobaiera, S. huangii may represent the best-known taxon in the genus Sphenobaiera in both leaf morphology and cuticular structures. This study provides the first detailed ultrastructural data on the leaf cuticle of Sphenobaiera, one of the oldest foliage taxa of Ginkgoales, and offers further evidence for potential discussion on the taxonomic relationships of S. huangii with other ginkgoalean taxa.

Key Words: China • fossil • Ginkgoales • Jurassic • leaf cuticle • Sphenobaiera huangii • ultrastructure






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