Eocene Epiphyllous Fungi.
Fossil fungi belonging to the Meliolaceae and Microthyriaceae were found in Eocene deposits in Tennessee. Germinated spores for each form of fungus were identified. One of the two forms of the genus Meliola, (Meliolaceae) appears to have parasitized the leaf upon which it grew. The vegetative, sexual, and asexual reproductive structures are preserved in a member of the genus Asterina (Microthyriaceae). The discovery of these fungi indicates that Western Tennessee was warm and humid during the Eocene.
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