Leaf morphology and cuticular features of Sphenophyllum in the Gigantopteris flora from South China

Permian specimens of Sphenophyllum with preserved cuticular anatomy have be en discovered in Cathaysia and have prompted a detailed re-evaluation of th e genus in the Gigantopteris flora in South China. New specimens are descri bed and previously published material is re-examined to clarify taxonomic d iversity and to establish geographic and stratigraphic ranges for each spec ies. Recognized taxa include Sphenophyllum apiciserratum sp. nov., S. koboe nse Kobatake, S. meridionale sp. nov., S. minor (Sterzel) Gu and Zhi, S. si nocoreanum Yabe, S. cf. sinocoreanum Yabe, and S. aff. speciosum (Royle) Mc Clelland. Cuticles of Sphenophyllum apiciserratum and S. koboense are hypos tomatic with randomly disposed ordinary cells in intercostal regions. Speci fic concepts are clarified and unresolved taxonomic problems are discussed. The South China taxa are compared with those from Euramerican, Gondwanan a nd Angaran floras, and the South China Cathaysian species are found to be t axonomically distinct. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.