| Scutifolium Temporal range: Early Cretaceous [1] | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Order: | Nymphaeales |
| Family: | Cabombaceae |
| Genus: | † Scutifolium Taylor, Brenner & Basha [1] |
| Species: | †S. jordanicum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Scutifolium jordanicum Taylor, Brenner & Basha [1] | |
Scutifolium jordanicum was a species of aquatic plant, which occurred in the lower Cretaceous period of Jordan. [1]
The petiolate, symmetrical, microphyllous, elliptical leaves of Scutifolium jordanicum are 22-51 mm long, and 19-37 mm wide. [1]
It was published by David Winship Taylor, Gilbert J. Brenner, and Sa’d Hasan Basha in 2008. [1]
The type specimen was collected in Mahis, Jordan. [1]
It is placed in the family Cabombaceae. [1]
The generic name Scutifolium is derived from the Latin scutum meaning shield and folium meaning leaf. The specific epithet jordanicum means "from Jordan". [1]
The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 114 genera and about 3,750 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.
The Nymphaeales are an order of flowering plants, consisting of three families of aquatic plants, the Hydatellaceae, the Cabombaceae, and the Nymphaeaceae. It is one of the three orders of basal angiosperms, an early-diverging grade of flowering plants. At least 10 morphological characters unite the Nymphaeales. One of the traits is the absence of a vascular cambium, which is required to produce both xylem (wood) and phloem, which therefore are missing. Molecular synapomorphies are also known.
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