Mennegoxylon

Mennegoxylon
Mennegoxylon specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nyctaginaceae
Genus: †Mennegoxylon
F.M.Hueber, E.M.V.Nambudiri, W.D.Tidwell & E.F.Wheeler
Type species
Mennegoxylon jonesii

Mennegoxylon, commonly referred to as snakewood, is a genus of now extinct trees exhibiting a cell structure resembling snake skin when viewed in cross section. Mennegoxylon is found in the Eocene age Yegua Formation of Texas and Louisiana, United States. Specifically, many examples of snakewood have been found in College Station, Texas.

It has been classified as a genus in the Nyctaginaceae. The type species is Mennegoxylon jonesii. The genus is named for Alberta Mennega.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hueber, F.M.; E.M.V. Nambudiri; W.D. Tidwell; E.F. Wheeler (1991). "An Eocene fossil tree with cambial variant wood structure" (PDF). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 68 (3–4). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.: 257–267. Bibcode:1991RPaPa..68..257H. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(91)90027-z.
  2. ↑ Singleton, Scott (January 2017). "Occurrence of Fossil Woods in Texas, Primarily the Cretaceous and Tertiary". Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions. 67: 305–330 – via The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database.
  3. ↑ Wheeler, Elisabeth; Manchester, Steven R. (January 2002). "Woods of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon, USA" (PDF). IAWA Journal (3). Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, The Netherlands: International Association of Wood Anatomists: 156. Retrieved 27 January 2021.