Studies in the Indian Middle Gondwana Flora- 2. Plant fossils from the South Rewa Gondwana Basin

Abstract

Plant fossils from the Middle Gondwana (Trias) beds of the South Rewa Gondwana basin are described. The flora consists of 15 genera and 16 recognizable species. Five species are new. The present findings serve to furnish the first record of certain interesting genera, viz. Lycopodites, Danaeopsis, Marattiopsis, Psuedoctenis, Baiera and Desmiophyllum from the Indian Triassic formations as well as confirm the occurrence of Cladophlebis, Glossopteris, Noeggerathiopsis and Araucarites. It is suggested that this flora is the Indian representative of the general Dicroidium flora that flourished during the Triasso-Rhaetic times on the southern continents. The palaeobotanical evidence, as a whole, constitutes a strong point in support of a Middle Gondwana.