Silvia Ulrich, Manuel Vieira, Mario Coiro, Johannes M Bouchal, Christian Geier, Bonnie F Jacobs, Ellen D Currano, Olaf K Lenz, Volker Wilde, Reinhard Zetter, Friðgeir Grímsson
The combined morphological features of Stratiotes (Hydrocharitaceae) pollen, observed with light and electron microscopy, make it unique among all angiosperm pollen types and easy to identify. Unfortunately, the plant is (and most likely was) insect-pollinated and produces relatively few pollen grains per flower, contributing to its apparent absence in the paleopalynological record. Here, we present fossil Stratiotes pollen from the Eocene of Germany (Europe) and Kenya (Africa), representing the first reliable pre-Pleistocene pollen records of this genus worldwide and the only fossils of this family discovered so far in Africa...
March 31, 2024: Plants (Basel, Switzerland)