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In situ fossil seedlings of a Metasequoia-like taxodiaceous conifer from Paleocene river floodplain deposits of central Alberta, Canada¹

²Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701; and ³Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9

Fossil seeds and seedlings of a Metasequoia-like taxodiaceous conifer occur in Paleocene deposits at the Munce's Hill and Gao Mine localities of central Alberta, Canada. Compression/impression specimens are preserved in upright growth positions among seedlings of the cercidiphyllaceous dicot Joffrea speirsii Crane & Stockey. There are a large number of seeds, a few of which were buried while germinating and show a radicle or short primary root. More than 500 Metasequoia-like seedlings have been identified that have two linear cotyledons with parallel margins and rounded tips. Three specimens have been found that display three cotyledons. Slightly older seedlings show decussate pairs of leaves attached to the stem distal to the cotyledons. Still older seedlings have axillary branches that show varying sizes and numbers of opposite leaves arranged in a single plane distal to the opposite pairs. These specimens reveal that both Joffrea and this extinct taxodiaceous conifer were early colonizers of North American floodplain communities at the beginning of the Tertiary.

Key Words: Metasequoia • Paleocene • seedlings • Taxodiaceae

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