Zamites Temporal range: Triassic to Oligocene |
|
---|---|
Fossil leaf of Zamites mariposana from the Jurassic. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Spermatophyta |
Division: | incertae sedis |
Genus: |
Zamites Brongniart, 1828 |
Zamites is a genus of fossil tree known from the Mesozoic of North America, Europe and India through the Oligocene of North America. It is a form taxon for leaves that resemble the extant cycad Zamia. The fronds are linear or lanceolate in shape, and pinnately compound, with pinnae with parallel veins and smooth margins, and symmetrical and constricted at the base where they are attached obliquely to the upper surface of the rachis. It has been interpreted as a cycad in the family Cycadaceae or a Bennettitalean plant.
Species include: