Journal of

GEOsciences

  (Formerly Journal of the Czech Geological Society)

Original Paper

Březinová, Holý, Kužvartová, Zlatko Kvaček

A silicified stem of Podocarpoxylon helmstedtianum Gottwald, 1966 from the Palaeogene site Kuclin (NW Bohemia)

Journal of the Czech Geological Society, volume 39 (1994), issue 2-3, 221 - 234

A large portion of the silicified stem has been recovered at the base of diatomite on the Trupelník Hill at Kučlín situated on western periphery of the České středohoří Mts. Its wood structure corresponds with Podocarpoxylon helmstedtianum Gottwald. Twigs and cone scales of the same plant belong to Doliostrobus Marion, an extinct conifer of taxodialean affinity, and occur frequently in adjacent diatomite layers. Fossilization took place stepwise starting with carbonization, several phases of silicification and variously intensive recrystallization. Beside carbonized tissue, fossil wood is converted mostly into opal. Cristobalite, ? tridymite, chalcedon, quartzine, quartz and xonotlite have also been recognized in wood and cavities. From stratigraphical and palaeoecological correlations the Late Eocene to Sanoisian age is assumed for the Kučlín flora.