Discovery of in situ Verrucosisporites applanatus spores from the Middle Triassic flora

Triassic plant remains are uncommon globally, with few Early-Middle Triassic floras well documented. Thus, the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, UK provides new insights into the terrestrial biota at this time and is extremely valuable since it provides the majority of fossil plants from the UK terrestrial Triassic sequence. This small but diverse flora comprises typical gymnospermous (Willsiostrobus, Pelourdea) and sphenopterid (Schizoneura, Neocalamites) elements of an Anisian-age flora. Reinvestigation of megafossil remains led to the discovery of a previously unknown and undescribed plant fossil with in situ spores, Bromsgrovia willsii gen. et sp. nov. The in situ spores were extracted and examined by light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. The Bromsgrove Anisian flora is summarized and illustrated along with the first occurrence of in situ Verrucosisporites applanatus spores, a marker for the Middle Triassic. The parent plant of V. applanatus is suggested to be a horsetail with an unusual morphology.