The first record of fossil wood of Winteraceae from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica

Abstract

Fossil wood of the Winteraceae from the Upper Cretaceous sediments of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, is described here for the first time. The specimen is characterized by the absence of vessels, rays of two distinct sizes and tracheids with one-three rows of circular bordered pits, mainly on the radial walls, grading to horizontally elongate and scalariform. Despite anatomical conformity to the family Winteraceae, the fossil wood is not identical to any one extant genus and therefore has been assigned to the fossil organ genus Winteroxylon Gottwald with which the fossil shows greatest similarity. (C) 2000 Annals of Botany Company.