Palissya cones from the mesozoic of Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Cones from the Early Cretaceous of southeastern Victoria, and Middle Jurassic of southeastern Queensland are described and illustrated. They are compared with Palissya banrumi from the Jurassic of New Zealand and the Palissya type material, P. sphenolepis, from the Liassic of Sweden and Germany. Cones from Australia and New Zealand share the same basic structure. They are composed of stalked sporophylls arranged helically on a central axis, with paired, cup-shaped processes attached adaxially to the sporophyll blade. These processes surround indentations in the sporophyll surface that are probably the sites where seeds were once attached. Morphological differences, the number of adaxial proc..