Wildlife Spotting

It could be a good decision. We have Dr Bagchi and his wife Dr Manashi Bagchi doing a lot of research in this area and coming up with quite good products like Reservertol,grape seed extract, etc.

Namitha, i personally love Botany. i shared it just because of the play of words and also was a bit surprised that somebody would write a poem on Botany!! My favorite was the dissection of the cycas leaflet and viewing it under the microscope. Thanks for asking and not assuming. This is one thing that I learned on Project ,is not to assume and not to disregard. Now adays Botany has developed a great respect in medicine and Bio-Pharmaceuticals.

Namitha, As a poet has said of learning botany, “It helps to train and spur the brain, unless you haven’t gotany"

Here's a good comparison... http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/fossils/history/jurass04.htm

Yes good point Mark. In the Cretaceous Period, India was a floating island near the eastern coast of Africa. It wasn't joined to southern Asia yet.

Wow Emma. With digging skills like those maybe you should have been a palaeontologist. Very interesting stuff isn't it. The 'big' history of life on earth really fascinates me. When one gets a grip on the scale of things human history is put well into perspective. Well done. This spotting should probably go under plants.

Basically what they are saying is that they found a particular species of a seed fern who's lineage survived thru the Cretaceous period. This study holds good in Tasmania and Tamil Nadu. It also stresses that it is very confusing to distinguish between Seed Ferns and Cycadaleans due to the similarities. it further goes to give tips on how to differentiate between the two. Are you a student of Botany?

Namitha in the link provde which belongs to American journal of Botany, I found this following info.............. New fossils from Tasmania show that one seed-fern lineage survived into the ..... and associated plant fossils from Tiruchirapalli District, Tamil Nadu. .... Development of floras in the middle part of the Cretaceous period, and older angiosperms.Leaves pinnate (all specimens incomplete). Pinnules subopposite, narrowly ovate to lanceolate (Figs. 1–4), 18–82 mm long, 8–24 mm wide; margins entire to slightly lobed (Figs. 5–8); apex acute but rounded (Figs. 1, 2); base acute, asymmetrical with the acroscopic margin more sharply angled and, at least in distal pinnules, slightly decurrent (Figs. 3, 4). Midvein distinct proximally but evanescent in the distal half of each pinnule (Figs. 2, 4, 8). http://www.amjbot.org/content/95/4/465.full arris (1964) discussed the difficulties in consistently distinguishing cycadaleans and seed ferns based on fragmentary macrofossils and dispersed cuticle. However, he noted a tendency for seed ferns to have pinnules with decurrent margins and veins that were divergent and twice or more pinnately divided. Among known cycads, Bowenia alone is reminiscent of seed ferns in having bipinnate, superficially fern-like foliage with divergent veins. Coincidentally, well-preserved Bowenia foliage occurs with Komlopteris in the Tasmanian fossil assemblage. However, it is immediately distinguishable from K. cenozoicus by its possession of toothed leaf margins and a range of very distinct cuticular features, many of them shared with other cycads.

Ahh.. now we're getting some perspective. I would not even think about trying to link to mangos, jackfruit etc. as they are regarded as originating in south Asia. 'India' did not get there until 38 million years ago - way too late for this fossil. I would look at cycad types.

flowering plants started appearing in the Cretaceous period - but somehow I don't think they were mango, jackfruit or banyan !! - we are talking 135 million years ago and India was not the subcontinent as we know it now...it's good you seem to have a time period for this fossil.

Chief Red Earth to the rescue!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous Is it the 1800's?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees_of_India. I was browsing thru this link. Jackfruit does seem a possibility.

Thanks Namitha!! ,now I remember very well, We use to make garlands for the doorways with these!!

This fossil could be hundreds of millions of years old. Expecting to match it to modern plant ID's is a bit naive. Does anyone at least know what epoch it belongs to?

I have eaten mangoes off mango trees ,so I should remember! It was a while ago. Depending on the location where the fossil was found you might be able to come to a conclusion.

I have not seen a jack fruit tree,so you could be right. How about Mango?Where did you find this fossil? Near a water front?

May be a fern frond with equal length pinnules ( little "leaflets")and a very thick midrib. What a great find ! hope you get an ID for it - would love to know...

not Neem or ,Pipal, Could be Banyan.