Eocene angiosperm flowers

Collections of well-preserved angiosperm flowers from the Middle Eocene of southeastern North America include a variety of morphological types. The first of these specimens to be studied extensively, a catkin, has yielded a great deal of structural information. Floral morphology, pollen morphology, and the nature of the peltate scales suggest that this catkin is allied with extant genera of the Juglandaceae. This confirms the antiquity of some of the diagnostic floral and pollen features found in extant genera of the Juglandaceae and the importance of structural information available from fossil angiosperm flowers.