A New Bowmanitean Fructification from the Pennsylvanian of Kansas
Mamay, S.H.
American Journal of Botany 46(7): 530-536
1959
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9122
DOI: 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1959.tb07046.x
Accession: 066842577
A new sphenophyllaceous fructification, Bowmanites moorei sp. nov., is described on the basis of coal ball petrifactions from the Fleming coal in southeastern Kansas. One of the simplest species of Bowmanites, B moorei has only 3 sporophylls in a whorl. Each sporophyll has 3 lobes, the median one fertile, the 2 lateral ones sterile. Each fertile lobe subtends 2 sporangia, resulting in 6 sporangia in a whorl. The sporangia are inverted, being distally attached to separate sporangiophores that arise in pairs, in axillary positions. The sporangial epidermis and epidermis of the lower surfaces of the sporangiophores are characterized by relatively large, thick-walled cells. The spores are small, spherical, and trilete, without distinctive ornamentation of the exine. B moorei adds to the morphological variation known in Bowmanites, but contributes little toward a phylogenetic interpretation of this morphologically complex genus.