Spiroxylon Indicum sp. nov., a Taxinean wood from the Lower Gondwanas of India

Abstract

Spiroxylon indicum is the first record of Taxinean wood from the Lower Gondwanas of India and establishes the existence of plants showing Taxoidean anatomy in the Lower Permian strata. It is described from small fragments obtained from some carbonaceous shales and is characterized by the presence of Taxinean spirals in addition to the bordered pits on the walls of its tracheides. It is closely allied to Spiroxylon africanum described by Walton (1925) from South Africa, but differs from that species in certain important details. It is, therefore, described here as a new species. The structure of Spiroxylon indicum lends support to the view that the Taxads may possibly have originated from some Cordaitean ancestors.