Fossil papilionoids of the Bowdichia clade (Leguminosae) from the Paleogene of North America.

ABSTRACT:

Premise

Understanding the evolutionary history of flowering plants has been enriched by the integration of molecular phylogenies and evidence from the fossil record. Fossil fruits and leaves from the late Paleocene and Eocene of Wyoming and Eocene of Kentucky and Tennessee are described as extinct genera in the tropical American Bowdichia clade of the legume subfamily Papilionoideae. Recent phylogenetic study and taxonomic revision of the Bowdichia clade have facilitated understanding of relationships of the fossil taxa and their evolutionary implications and paleoenvironmental significance.

Methods

The fossils were studied using standard methods of specimen preparation and light microscopy and compared to fruits and leaves from extant legume taxa using herbarium collections

SUBMITTER: Herendeen PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9306462 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature