Drewria potomacensis is a Cretaceous megafossil member of the Gnetales, from the Potomac Group, hence its name. It was possibly a shrub.[1] It is the only known species in the genus Drewria.
| Drewria | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Gnetophyta |
| Order: | Gnetales |
| Genus: | †Drewria Crane & Upchurch |
| Species: | †D. potomacensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Drewria potomacensis Crane & Upchurch
| |
Description
editIts stems were slender, with opposite and decussate leaves. The leaves were oblong and measured up to 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long. Its reproductive structures consisted of short, loose spikes arranged in dichasial groups of 3.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Crane, Peter R.; Upchurch Jr., Garland R. (1987). "Drewria potomacensis gen. et sp. nov., an Early Cretaceous member of Gnetales from the Potomac Group of Virginia". American Journal of Botany. 74 (11): 1722–1736. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1987.tb08774.x. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
Further reading
edit- Friis, Else Marie, Peter R. Crane, and Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen. Early flowers and angiosperm evolution. Cambridge University Press, 2011.
- Rydin, C. (2006). "Former Diversity of Ephedra (Gnetales): Evidence from Early Cretaceous Seeds from Portugal and North America". Annals of Botany. 98 (1): 123–140. doi:10.1093/aob/mcl078. ISSN 0305-7364. PMC 2803531. PMID 16675607.
- Wilson, Karen, and David Morrison, eds. Monocots: Systematics and Evolution: Systematics and Evolution. CSIRO PUBLISHING, 2000.
- Pearson, David. New organic architecture: the breaking wave. University of California Press, 2001.
- Hughes, Norman Francis. The enigma of angiosperm origins. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
- Bell, Peter R., and Alan R. Hemsley. Green plants: their origin and diversity. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
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