Contribution to the study of the fossil flora of Colombia

Abstract

The two fossil leaf fragments treated in this paper have been found in Colombia by J. de Porta. They represent Hilocon’opyllum falanense n. gem, n. sp. and Heliconiophyllum elegans (Engelhardt) ** Pons u. comb. These specimens from Falan (= Santa Ana), South West of Mariquita (Tolima Department), have been found in white china-clay deposits of the Mesa Formation. The well-preserved leaf impressions allow a detailed study of the epidermis and of internal cell-layers of the lamina. These fossil records in the Tertiary of Colombia corroborate the endemic character of Heliconiaceae in America and seem to invalidate the presence of fossil Musaceae referred to the Linnaean genus Musa. We have established the repartition and studied comparatively the fossil leaves of Musaceae and Heliconiaceae