Carmichaelia sp.

Pole, Mike, 2022, A vanished ecosystem: Sophora microphylla (Kōwhai) dominated forest recorded in mid-late Holocene rock shelters in Central Otago, New Zealand, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 1) 25 (1), pp. 1-41 : 7-11

Carmichaelia sp.

Figure 8

Material. Present in 34% of the shelters with dry vegetation. SL 6583; Shelter-002: LX3335, LX3336; Shelter-005: LX5394, LX5408; Shelter-008: SL 6664; Shelter-010: LX3186; Shelter-011: LX3234; Shelter-012: LX3145; Shelter-014: SL 6630; Shelter-015: SL 6697; Shelter-016: SL 6694; Shelter-017: LX3170; Shelter-019: LX3011; Shelter-021: LX3150; Shelter-022: SL 6597, SL 6598; Shelter-025: SL 6678; Shelter-029: LX5805; Shelter-030: LX2444, LX2968; Shelter-038: LX2979: LX2980; Shelter-039: LX3104; Shelter-040: LX3248; Shelter-041: SL 6488, SL 6489, SL 6490; Shelter-046: LX2564, LX2570, LX2578; Shelter-050: LX2588; Shelter-058: SL 6482; Shelter-059: SL 6452; Shelter-060: LX3296; Shelter-062: LX3255; Shelter-065: LX3262; Shelter-066: SL 6466; Shelter-069: SL 6503, SL 6515, SL 6516, SL 6517, SL 6519; Shelter-070: LX2610; Shelter-073: SL 6514; Shelter-077: LX2551; Shelter-081: LX3361; Shelter-082: LX2436; Shelter-084: LX2559; Shelter-094: LX2882, LX3003; Shelter-110: LX3107, LX3108; Shelter-115: LX5674, LX5675.

Remarks. The stem cuticle of these nearly leafless ‘brooms’ is highly distinctive as the stomatal complexes are transversely-oriented ( Pole, 2019). Heenan (1998) recognized 23 species of Carmichaelia currently indigenous to New Zealand. Several of these occur in or near the study region today, and probably more than one species is represented in the shelter material. However, the extant species display considerable plasticity in cuticle morphology, and currently the species cannot be consistently distinguished on that basis.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Carmichaelia sp. cuticle morphology (Transmitted light microscopy). A. Showing transversely oriented stomatal complexes along the stem (long-axis of the stem is left-right) (LX2570, Shelter-46, scale bar equals 100 μm). B. Also with transversely oriented stomatal complexes, but including trichome attachment (arrowed, SL6583, LX2478, Coprolite-11, scale bar equals 100 μm).