Structurally Preserved Phloem Zone Tissue in Rhynia

Optical microscopic studies of longitudinal sections of permineralized Rhynia axes from the lower (?) Devonian Rhynie Chert of Scotland have revealed the occurrence of numerous pores, 3–8 μm in diam, distributed along lateral cell walls in the zone of tissue commonly regarded as phloem. In face view, these pores appear to be composed of circular subunits less than 1 μm in diam. A conductive function for the complex tissue of the Rhynia phloem zone seems evidenced by the occurrence of these pores and by the thin‐walled, elongate, tapered nature of the component cells.