Some contribution to the palaeobotany of Neyveli lignite, South India

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the dispersed plant remains consisting of woody and non-woody tissues, pollen grains and spores from the Tertiary lignite of Neyveli, South India, has revealed that the lignite has been formed from a predominantly angiospermous vegetation. The affinities of the fossil material represented either by pollen grains or other organic tissues show a large assemblage of dicotyledonous taxa. After a critical study of the hitherto known fossil flora from the deposit, the characteristic families which form the source vegetation of the lignite are Legnminosae, Meliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Sapotaceae, Ebenaceae, Guttiferae, Dipterocarpaceae, Combretaceae, Gramineae, Palmae and some aquatic taxa (probably belonging to Nymphaeaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Lecythidaceae and Potamogetonaceae). Apart from the above taxa, ferns and fungi represented by miospores, microstructures and microplanktons also occur in the lignite. The evidences provided by the fossil material and by the petrologic nature of the lignite suggest the existence of a warm humid, tropical to subtropical climatic condition during the formation of the deposit. The occurrence of fresh water forms coupled with mangrove elements indicate the formation of the lignite probably at the confluence of the river with the sea during the Tertiary period.