PHYTOLITHS

grass silica cell Coconut phytolith

PHYTOLITHS: the siliceous secondary cell walls of certain terrestrial plants. Phytoliths are destroyed by hydrofluoric acid so they are never present in routine palynological preparations, and phytoliths processing involves treatment with strong oxidizing agents, which destroy pollen. Studied phytoliths generally range from ca. 20 - 50 µm. Identification is based on cell form (e.g.; dumbbells, saddles, bowls, boats), which is generally not diagnostic to the genus or species taxonomic level. Carbone (1977) has demonstrated consistent morphology at the subfamily level (festucoid, panicoid, chloroid) and has used these differences to indicate progressive development of U.S.A. Midwestern grasslands during the Holocene. References: Carbone, V.A. 1977. Phytoliths as paleoecological indicators. Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. 288:194-205. Brown, D.W. 1984. Prospects and limits of a phytolith key for grasses in the central United States. J. Arch. Sci. 11:345-368. Parmente, G.C. and D.W. Folger. 1974. Eolian biogenic detritus in deep-sea sediment - possible index of equatorial ice age aridity. Science 184:695. Pearsall, D.M. 1977. Phytolith analysis of archeological soils: evidence for maize cultivation in formative Ecuador. Science 199:177-178. Piperno, D.R. 1988. Phytolith analysis, an Archaeological and Geological Perspective. Academic Press, Inc. Rovner, I. 1971. Potential of opal phytoliths for use in paleoecological reconstruction. Quat. Res. 1:343-359. Twiss, P.C. 1983. Dust deposition and opal phytoliths in the Great Plains. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci 11:73-82. Links: Terry Ball's Phytolith Page M.Blinnikov's Phytolith Gallery Bulletin of the Society for Phytolith Research Mimi Fearn's Phytolith Page University of Missouri Christian Mulder Phytolith Analysis in the Palouse Loess Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Phytoliths and starch grains