A splinter of charred oleaceous wood from late early Eocene volcanoclastic deposits of Germany

Abstract

A splinter of charred wood was recovered from late Early Eocene volcanoclastic deposits underlying the lacustrine succession of the Messel-pit near Darmstadt (Hesse, Germany). Well-preserved anatomical details due to charring allow for an attribution of the splinter to the Oleaceae family. Within Oleaceae, the wood shows good agreement with the anatomical structure of recent members of the genera Olea, Chionanthus and Noronhia. However, due to the high variability of structural features within this group of genera, a reliable taxonomic placement is restricted to the monophyletic drupaceous subtribe Oleinae. The Splinter was cut loose from a tree of the local vegetation and charred by effects of the respective phreatomagmatic eruption, even under a low-fire regime. The specimen represents a rare example of a Pre-Quarternary wood that can be related directly to a radiometric age of 48.27–48.11 Ma (±0.22 Ma).