Acta Palaeobotanica 2(Suppl): 629–632, 1999

Preservation of plant cuticles.

Summary: Recent and fossil conifer and Ginkgo cuticles have been studied using a combination of SEM, TEM, py-GC-MS and FT-IR. Results show that a highly resistant original chemical composition is not a prerequisite for preservation. Selective preservation (of a resistant macromolecule such as cutan) or random repolymerization cannot explain the preservation of cuticles in fossil leaves of conifers or Ginkgo. Cuticle preservation as a resistant organic fossil is considered to result from formation of a macromolecular matrix by within-cuticle diagenetic stabilisation of normally labile constituents. [Acta Palaeobot. - Supplementum No. 2]

Keywords: cuticle, conifer, Ginkgo, macromolecule, preservation, fossil