Tinospora wilkinsonii
Tinospora wilkinsonii
Summary
Tinospora wilkinsonii was an early Eocene member of the moonseed family known from the hard inner stone of its fruit. Living Tinospora are woody climbers in tropical and subtropical forests, so a climbing habit is a reasonable comparison for the fossil species, although no attached London Clay stems or leaves demonstrate the growth form directly.
The endocarp was deeply boat-shaped and strongly ornamented, forming a tough protective case around the seed. Compared with Tinospora excavata it was larger and carried much more prominent spines, while the style was especially conspicuous in ventral view. These reproductive structures make the fruit distinctive even though the rest of the plant is unknown.
Quick Identification
Look for: a deeply boat-shaped Tinospora fruit stone that is larger and much more strongly spined than Tinospora excavata, with a conspicuously prominent style visible in ventral view.
Diagnostic Features
- Endocarp is deeply boat-shaped.
- Fruit stone is larger overall than the closely similar Tinospora excavata.
- External surface carries conspicuous, comparatively large spines rather than the much finer ornament of T. excavata.
- Style is strongly developed and especially prominent in ventral view.
- Overall endocarp construction otherwise closely resembles T. excavata, making size, spine development and style prominence important together.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Eliise Kara; Jérémie Bardin; Dario De Franceschi; Cédric Del Rio. (2024). Fossil endocarps of Menispermaceae from the late Paleocene of Paris Basin, France. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 62(4), 809–828 View reference
- Joaquin S. Rico; Ruth A. Stockey; Gar W. Rothwell; Graham Beard. (2026). A New Genus of Permineralized Eocene Fruits: Menispermaceae (Chasmantheroideae) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 187(3), 229–241 View reference
- Lian Lian; Rosa Del C. Ortiz; Florian Jabbour; Zhi-Duan Chen; Wei Wang. (2019). Re-delimitation of Tinospora (Menispermaceae): Implications for character evolution and historical biogeography. Taxon, 68(5), 905–917 View reference