Umkomasia


Umkomasia is a genus of seed bearing organs produced by corystosperm seed ferns, first based on fossils collected by Hamshaw Thomas from the Burnera Waterfall locality near the Umkomaas River of South Africa.[3] He recognized on the basis of cuticular similarities that the same plant produced pollen organs Pteruchus and the leaves Dicroidium. Various other corystosperm seed bearing organs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous have been assigned to this genus, but recently have been given distinct genera, with Umkomasia being restricted to the Triassic.[4]


Umkomasia macleanii reconstruction with pollen organs (Pteruchus africanus) and leaves (Dicroidium odontopteroides) from the Late Triassic, Molteno Formation of South Africa