XVI International Botanical Congess

Ternstroemites leaves are found in middle Eocene deposits in W. KY and TN. The present study was focused upon anatomical and morphological analysis of Ternstroemites and Gordonia lasianthus leaves. This analysis consists of leaf form, size, margin, venation, cuticle characters of fossil and modern leaves. Gordonia is known from fruits and seeds of the same deposits where Ternstroemites occur. We applied rigorous comparisons of leaf characters to see if the fossil leaves also demonstrate close similarities of numerous characters to the living genus Gordonia. The character sets of the fossil and living leaves appear similar. We expect that a statistical analysis of these characters will reveal if mosaic evolution exists in Gordonia. Changes in paleoatmosphere concentration of CO2 can also be observed from the stomatal index of the fossil leaves.