Increased paleobotanical activity of the last several years is beginning to yield new data and new insights bearing on the origin and early diversification of flowering plants during the Cretaceous Period, 100 million years ago. The previous database used by paleobotanists focused almost entirely upon leaf remains. New evidence from fossil pollen and fossilized floral and wood structures, and new interpretations of leaf anatomy, have greatly expanded the database. Dr. Peter Crane of the Field Museum, Chicago, will continue this expansion of the sources of data, by collecting floral remains from rich Cretaceous deposits of the Potomac Group of eastern North America. Detailed descriptive examination of well-preserved floral material will permit recognition of the major taxonomic groups living at this early time in angiosperm history. Studies of flowers with pollen in place will permit integration of the extensive dispersed palynological record of early angiosperms with the fossil record of other plant organs. Information on floral structure will provide an improved basis for interpreting the pollination and other biological aspects of the life of early flowering plants. Dr. Crane's studies are important in developing corroborated hypotheses about the evolutionary relationships between major groups of early angiosperms.
