A surface microrelief on the leaves of Glossophyllum florinii (?Ginkgoales) from the Upper Triassic of Lunz, Austria

Abstract

The cuticles of many extant seed plants display distinct surface microreliefs, which represent adaptations to certain habitat conditions or mechanical defences against herbivores and phytopathogenic microorganisms. Although microreliefs have variously been noted in fossil cuticles, hypotheses relating to the effectiveness of these structures in fossil plants have not been advanced to date. A surface microrelief composed of longitudinally orientated idiocuticular striae occurs on the leaves of the enigmatic Carnian (Late Triassic) gymnosperm (?ginkgophyte) Glossophyllum florinii Kräusel from the Northern Calcareous Alps of lower Austria. Most striae originate from the tips of the papillae on the stomatal subsidiary cells. The G. florinii surface microrelief may have (1) reduced leaf wettability, (2) produced or enhanced the self-cleaning effect of the leaf, (3) prevented the formation of a water film on the leaf surface, and/or (4) mechanically stabilized the leaf. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London.