CUTICULAR MICROMORPHOLOGY OF PAGIOPHYLLUM-BLADENENSIS, COMB-NOV, FROMTHE LATE CRETACEOUS OF THE NORTH-CAROLINA COASTAL-PLAIN, USA

Abundant leaf and branch compressions referable Araucaria bladenensis Berry have been recovered from Late Cretaceous gray mudstones of the T ar Heel Formation along the Tar River in Pitt County, NC. Leaves are u p to 21.2 mm long by 9.9 mm wide, flat, sessile, coriaceous, and fusif orm, and have entire margins, acute tips, and numerous parallel, unbra nched veins. Leaves are borne helically and are imbricate. Cuticle was recovered using 20% CrO3 and is incompletely preserved. Epidermal cel ls are irregular to rectangular in shape with thin, straight anticlina l walls. Sunken stomata are in discontinuous rows with the long axis o f guard cells typically parallel to that of the leaf Stomata are encyc locytic with a surrounding ring of three to five encircling cells. Ext ernal stomatal wax plugs are commonly present. Florin rings are presen t but not observed consistently. Other stomatal features are indistinc t due to incomplete preservation. Leaf morphology is similar to that s een in Araucariaceae and in Nageia sect. Nageia de Laubenfels (Podocar paceae). Among cuticular features, the presence of Florin rings is con sistent with Agathis Salisbury (Araucariaceae) and Podocarpaceae, and encircling cells are common in Araucariaceae and other conifers. It is concluded that this material shows its greatest affinities with Arauc ariaceae but does not fit precisely within any known taxa. Consequentl y, A. bladenensis is transferred to the form-genus Pagiophyllum Heer a s P. bladenensis comb. nov.