Osmundites Sahnii sp. nov., a new species of petrified osmundaceous rhizomes from India

Abstract

The paper describes a petrified osmundaceous rhizome discovered from near Bmdrabun m the Jurassic of the Rajmahal Hills, Bihar. The specimen made up of vertically growing leaf bases and roots, includes three stems in it. Each stem has a broad sclerenchymatous outer cortex, surrounding a narrow inner cortex. The stele consists of 50-70 individual strands arranged in a circle surrounding the sclerenchymatous pith. Most of the strands are continuous with one another. The medullary strands are absent. The C-shaped leaf traces are each enclosed in a sclerotid ring with several protoxylem groups. Several sclerenchymatous strands are found scattered in the pith of the trace as well as in the stipular wing. No sclerenchymatous tissue is noticed in contact with the stele of the leaf trace. The specimen differs from the other Jurassic species of Osmundites in the distribution of sclerenchymatous strands in the leaf bases.