Fossil dicotyledonous woods from Deccan Intertrappean sediments of Ghansor, Seoni District, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Anatomical details of three well preserved dicotyledonous woods resembling extant genera, viz. Dracontomelon Bl. (syn. Dracontomelum Bl.) of the family Anacardiaceae, Elaeocarpus Linn. of the Elaeocarpaceae, Euphoria Comm. ex Juss. - Litchi chinensis Sonn. - Otonephalium Radlk. (anatomically indistinguishable) of the Sapindaceae have been described from the Deccan Intertrappean sediments of Ghansor, Seoni District, Madhya Pradesh. The assemblage indicates occurrence of thick tropical vegetation at the time of deposition. These genera are presently found in natural association and are distributed in tropical wet-evergreen forests of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Assam, Sikkim, Bangladesh and Myanmar etc. Their presence signifies that the climate was tropical with plenty of rainfall during the period of deposition.