Spore-dominated assemblages from the lowermost Reading Beds (Palaeocene) of North Essex

Abstract

SUMMARY Palynological assemblages recovered from horizons within the late Palaeocene Reading Beds of north Essex contain an unusual Pteridopyte spore-dominated microflora. These assemblages are dominated by Camerozonosporites heskemensis (Pflanzl in Murriger & Pflanzl) Krutzsch 1959 and Leiotriletes maxoides Krutzsch 1962 and are lacking in significant numbers of angiosperm and gymnosperm pollen. It is suggested that this microflora was derived from a fern-dominated primary colonising community exploiting an unstable floodplain environment. The Pteridopyte-dominated community is contrasted with the angiosperm-dominated communities identified in south Essex, London and the North Sea Basin.