XVI International Botanical Congess

Numerous angiosperm fossil floras have been recovered from Late Cretaceous sediments of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. Many of these floras contain three-dimensionally preserved charcoalified and lignitized flowers, fruits and seeds (mesofossils) that have expanded our understanding of the taxonomic and morphological diversity, and the ecological importance of early eudicots. Analyses of morphological characters and counts of specimens document the diversification and increasing contribution of this clade to the Late Cretaceous vegetation. In situ pollen from these mesofossils allow confident taxonomic assignment of pollen and the calibration of large-scale analyses of the eudicot radiation based solely on dispersed palynofloras.