Banksia paleocrypta

Banksia paleocrypta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Species:
B. paleocrypta
Binomial name
Banksia paleocrypta
R. Carpenter, 2014

Banksia paleocrypta is an extinct species of Banksia in the family Proteaceae. The species is known from silcretes deposits from the Walebing and Kojonup regions of southwestern Australia dating to the Late Eocene.[1] This species is the oldest fossil in the genus Banksia with evidence of stomata and trichomes, characteristics of xerophytes which are adapted to survive in environments with very little water. These traits slow water loss in arid climates.[2] However Banksia paleocrypta is of special interest because it is dated 25 million years prior to the widely accepted timing for the onset of aridity that expanded globally during the Neogene.[3][4]

  1. ^ Carpenter, R. J.; McLoughlin, S.; Hill, R. S.; McNamara, K. J.; Jordan, G. J. (2014-09-01). "Early evidence of xeromorphy in angiosperms: Stomatal encryption in a new eocene species of Banksia (Proteaceae) from Western Australia". American Journal of Botany. 101 (9): 1486–1497. doi:10.3732/ajb.1400191. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 25253709.
  2. ^ "Fossil Plants of the Darling Range and Beyond | Western Australian Naturalists Club". www.wanaturalists.org.au. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  3. ^ "Western Australian Fossil Plants and Climate – Wildflower Society of Western Australia". www.wildflowersocietywa.org.au. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  4. ^ De Souza Cortez, Maria Beatriz; Folk, Ryan A; Grady, Charles J; Spoelhof, Jonathan P; Smith, Stephen A; Soltis, Douglas E; Soltis, Pamela S (2020-11-06). "Is the age of plant communities predicted by the age, stability and soil composition of the underlying landscapes? An investigation of OCBILs". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 133 (2): 297–316. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaa174. ISSN 0024-4066.