''Tietea'' was a genus of marattialean

tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

s from the

Late Carboniferous Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * Late (The 77s album), ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudo ...

to the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. The genus has been placed in a number of families, including Psaroniaceae. The first described species was ''Tietea singularis'', which grew up to in height. It is estimated to represent close to 90% of some fossil assemblages in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. ''Tietea derbyi'' was described in 1992, but its validity has been questioned as it could be a laterally flattened specimen of ''T. singularis''.

Description

''Tietea singularis'' stems usually are less than in diameter, bearing four orthostichies of leaves in a decussate arrangement. The stem is surrounded by a continuous ring of

sclerenchyma The ground tissue of plants includes all tissues that are neither dermal nor vascular. It can be divided into three types based on the nature of the cell walls. This tissue system is present between the dermal tissue and forms the main bulk of th ...

that separates it from the root mantle. ''T. singularis'' stem transverse sections have the same basic structure as ''

Psaronius ''Psaronius'' is an extinct genus Marattiales, marattialean tree fern which grew to 10m in height, and is associated with leaves of the Form taxon, organ genus ''Pecopteris'' and other extinct tree ferns. Originally, ''Psaronius'' was a name for ...

'', but are composed of central vascular bundles having smaller, O- and C-shaped forms, or wavy segments having a short, rounded or fat configuration. Leaf traces are polymeristelic in Tietea, while they are monomeristelic in ''Psaronius''. The ''Tietea'' root mantle is composed of polyarch roots embedded in a parenchymatous tissue that is produced both by the stem and the roots.

Distribution

The preserved examples of ''Tietea singularis'' from Pedra do Fogo Formation, in the

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

Basin (northeastern Brazil, near

Araguaína Araguaína () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. Its population was 183,381 (2020), and its area is . Education Higher education The city has campuses from several higher education institutions. There are two camp ...

) exhibit remarkable cell preservation and exquisite coloration. Much of the recovered wood material from this formation is of the tree ferns ''Psaronius'' and ''T. singularis'', with fewer examples of the fossilized stems being of ''

Calamites ''Calamites'' is a genus of Extinction, extinct arborescent (tree-like) horsetails to which the modern horsetails (genus ''Equisetum'') are closely related. Unlike their Herbaceous plant, herbaceous modern cousins, these plants were medium-size ...

''.

Conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s such as '' Dadoxylon'' are also found. ''Tietea singularis'' is also seen abundantly in the

Motuca Formation Motuca is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 4,795 (2020 est.) in an area of 229 km2. The elevation is 618 m. The municipality was created on January 20, 1990. History The first records of settlement in Motuca ...

Parnaíba Parnaíba () is a city in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Having a population of over 169,000 inhabitants according to IBGE's 2024 estimates, it is the second most populous city in the state, after the capital Teresina. It is one of the four coast ...

Basin in Filadélfia,

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 2014 ...

. In 2000, the area of the Motuca formation was transformed into a

Natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

, the

Monumento Natural das Árvores Fossilizadas The Tocantins Fossil Trees Natural Monument () is a natural monument in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Location The protection unit was created by law 32.152 on 4 October 2000. It lies with the municipality of Filadélfia, Tocantins. The buffer ...

-MONAF (Tocantins Fossil Trees Natural Monument). FAPESP Research Magazine
Edition 210 - August 2013
/ref>

References

Marattiidae Prehistoric plants of South America Carboniferous Brazil Permian Brazil Fossils of Brazil Paraná Basin {{fern-stub