Phytomorphology, 48(4), pp. 391-397, 1998 FOSSIL WOOD OF ARTOCARPUS FROM WARKALLI FORMATION OF KERALA COAST, INDIA 1 RASHMI SRIVASTAVA Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany 53, University Road, Lucknow - 226 007. Uttar Pradesh. India Abstract The present paper is a detailed account of anatomical features of a carbonised wood, namely, Artocarpoxyloll kartikcherraellsis Prakash & Lali tha collected from a well cutting at Cheruvathur village in Kasaragod District, north of Kerala. In all its anatomical characters it with modem species Ar/Ocarpus chaplasha, A. gomeziallG and A. lakoocha of Moraceae, which are xylotomically indistinguishable. The fossil history of the genus Artocarpus is also discussed. Key Words: Anatomy, Anocarpus, Moraceae, Warkalli Formation, Kerala Coast (India). The Nwgene sedimentary sequence in Kerala Basin exposed at several places along West Coast are known as Quilon and Warkalli formations. The carbonised flora of Warkalll Formation is represented by a variety of dicotyledonous wood, leaf remains and a fruit, described by Awasthi & Ahuja. (1982), Awasthi & Panjwani (1984), Awasthi & Srivastava (1989, 1990, 1992a, 1992b)'and Srivastava & Awasthi (1994, 1996). The present carbonised wood investigated from Cheruvathur shows close resemblance with the genus Artocarpus of Moraceae. Material and Method Two small pieces of carbonised wood were collected from a well cutting at Cheruvathur village of Kasaragod District, north of Kerala. The larger one is measured 4.6 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. The preservation is excellent showing all the anatomical details. The carbonisecl wood pieces were impregnated in camuba wax. before sectioning due to their brittle nature. Thin sections of impregnated wood pieces were prepared using the sliding microtome in three planes, i.e., transverse, tangential longitudinal and radial longitudinal. The sections were mounted in Canada balsam on glass slides. Each section was critically examined under high power light microscope to see their xylQtomica! characters. 1. Received for publicalion : May 4, 1<;;98.