Iodes multireticulata

Iodes multireticulata

Reid et Chandler

Fossil group Plants
Order Icacinales
Family Icacinaceae
Genus Iodes
Taxonomic status Accepted
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Iodes multireticulata was a small, finely patterned fruit of the Iodes lineage. Its stone is oval to ovate and laterally compressed, commonly narrowing toward a pointed apex. The surface is divided by ridges into a dense network of roughly 30–50 enclosed areoles, far more numerous than in Iodes corniculata, with only occasional short ridgelets ending freely.

The locule lining is papillate and the wall is built from strongly interlocking cells. Earlier workers also observed the marginal vascular bundle embedded in the wall, a key Iodes character, although abrasion prevented the modern CT study from tracing it continuously. The species was abundant in the London Clay and therefore probably represents a common fruit type in the early Eocene vegetation. Living Iodes are lianas, but the isolated stones do not by themselves prove the exact growth habit of the fossil parent plant.

Quick Identification

Look for: a small oval-lenticular Iodes stone with a dense reticulum of about 30–50 enclosed areoles and a slightly pointed apex. The locule lining is papillate; the embedded marginal bundle is historically documented but can be lost to abrasion.

Diagnostic Features

  • Endocarp is oval to ovate and laterally compressed, often narrowing toward a pointed apex.
  • Surface ridges enclose approximately 30–50 distinct areoles or concavities.
  • Only occasional ridgelets terminate freely; most of the network is closed.
  • Locule lining is papillate, with papillae generally larger and more widely spaced than in Iodes corniculata.
  • An embedded marginal vascular bundle was originally documented, consistent with Iodes, although it is not continuously visible in degraded CT material.

Fossil Details

Typical size
About 8–12.5 mm long, 4–7.5 mm wide and roughly 3–4 mm thick.
Fossil material
Seed, Fruit
Preservation
Fine reticulation can be smoothed by abrasion, and the margin is often the first part to lose the vascular-bundle evidence. Well-preserved complete surfaces are much more reliable than isolated fragments of reticulate wall.

Similar Species

Recorded Fossil Sites

References

  • Eleanor Mary Reid; Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler. (1933). The London Clay Flora. . British Museum (Natural History), London View reference
  • Gregory W. Stull; Neil F. Adams; Steven R. Manchester; Dan Sykes; Margaret E. Collinson. (2016). Revision of Icacinaceae from the Early Eocene London Clay flora based on X-ray micro-CT. Botany, 94(9), 713–745 View reference
  • Kathleen B. Pigg; Steven R. Manchester; Melanie L. DeVore. (2008). Fruits of Icacinaceae (Tribe Iodeae) from the Late Paleocene of western North America. American Journal of Botany, 95(7), 824–832 View reference
  • Margaret E. Collinson; Neil F. Adams; Steven R. Manchester; Gregory W. Stull; Fabiany Herrera; Selena Y. Smith; Mary J. Andrew; Paul Kenrick; Dan Sykes. (2016). X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) of pyrite-permineralized fruits and seeds from the London Clay Formation (Ypresian) conserved in silicone oil: a critical evaluation. Botany, 94(9), 697–711 View reference
Last Reviewed
26 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris