Acrocarpus, Wight ex Arnott, 1838

Blanchard, J, Wang, H & Dilcher, D, 2016, Fruits, seeds and flowers from the Bovay and Bolden clay pits (early Eocene Tallahatta Formation, Claiborne Group), northern Mississippi, USA, Palaeontologia Electronica 19 (3), pp. 1-59 : 12

Genus ACROCARPUS Wight ex Arnott, 1838 cf. Acrocarpus sp.

( Figure 8 )

v. 1992 cf. Acrocarpus sp. Herendeen, p. 89-90, figs. 18-20.

Description. “Fruit incomplete, 8.1 + cm long, 1.8 cm wide; placental suture winged, 3–4 mm wide; nonplacental suture winged, 2–3 mm wide; apex rounded; base not preserved; seeds 6 +, symmetrical, 7.5 mm long, 5 mm wide, transverse to slightly oblique; fruits dehiscent, valves not twisting” (Herendeen, 1992, p. 89-90).

Number of specimens examined. 1. UF15737- 008276.

Remarks. This is the specimen from the Bovay clay pit described by Herendeen (1992). He suggested that this fossil fruit is most similar to Acrocarpus in size, structure, and seed shape. However, fruits of extant Acrocarpus are narrowly winged along the nonplacental suture. It will be significant if this fossil fruit is confirmed to belong to extant Acrocarpus , because this genus consists of one or two species of large tropical trees found only in India, Indonesia (Sumatra), and Thailand ( Allen and Allen, 1981; Polhill and Vidal, 1981).

Figures

FIGURE 8. cf. Acrocarpus sp.: 1-2) UF15737-008276, 008276'. Part and counterpart of a specimen showing a single valve of a fruit with alternating outlines of three seeds (s) and four seed chambers (sc). Scale bar equals 5 mm.