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Paleophytochemistry: Implications Concerning Plant Evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Karl J. Niklas
Karl J. Niklas*
Affiliation:
Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University
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Extract

Chemical analyses of fossil plants and their associated sediments are currently providing the paleobotanist with biochemical information relevant to the reconstruction of taxonomic relationships. The isolation and chemical identification of various plant pigments from fossils, such as flavonoids and carotenoids (compounds that give flowers their characteristic colors), steroids, fatty acids, and a host of plant phenolic acids, provide the opportunity to characterize the specific paleophytochemical profiles of fossil species.

Information

Type
Current Happenings
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , Winter 1981 , pp. 1 - 3
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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