Microstructure of Some Woody Tissues and Pith Related to the Form Genus Dadoxylon in the Permian Coal, Raniganj Coalfield, India

The microscopic examination of some woody tissues has shown araucarian type of pits in the radial walls of the tracheids; somewhat contiguous or separate bordered pits oppositely arranged and with round, elliptical or slit-like aperture; occasional presence of trabeculae, torus and 'bars of Sanio' in the walls of the tracheids. These features, and the commonly low and uniseriate medullary rays in the tangentially cut woody tissues, indicate either a Cordaitalean or a Coniferous wood. The microstructure of pith described here, is the first record from an Indian coal. The pith is fairly wide, solid and mainly composed of sclerotic cells and occasional resin-filled parenchymatous cells. To this extent, the pith-structure resembles those of the fossil Dadoxyla discovered in the Gondwana rocks of India. Considering the geological age (Permian) of the Raniganj coal, and the nominal presence of the Coniferales during the Lower Gondwana period, the wood and the pith seem to have a Cordaitalean rather than a Coniferous affinity; but in the absence of other supporting characters, the wood and the pith have been referred to the form genus Dadoxylon.