Image of a Phytolith (bulliform)

A Phytolith ("Plant stone") is a rigid microscopic body that occurs in many plants. The most common type of phytolith is the silicon phytolith, also called opal phytolith. Silicon phytoliths vary in size and shape depending on the plant taxon and plant part (stem, leaf, root) in which they (naturally) occur. Calcium oxalate phytoliths can occur in, e.g., cacti. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 166 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photographie au microscope dun phytolithe (cellule bulliforme) Photographe: Henri-Georges NATON Source: importé par le photographe Licence: GFDL-self File history Legend: (cur) = this is... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 166 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photographie au microscope dun phytolithe (cellule bulliforme) Photographe: Henri-Georges NATON Source: importé par le photographe Licence: GFDL-self File history Legend: (cur) = this is... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... It has been suggested that Silicons ranking be merged into this article or section. ... For other articles with similar names, see Opal (disambiguation). ... Stem showing internode and nodes plus leaf petiole and new stem rising from node. ... “Foliage” redirects here. ... Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ... Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals. ... Genera See Taxonomy of the Cactaceae A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses or cactus) is any member of the succulent plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. ...

These objects apparently serve, at least in some cases, to give structural stability to leaves and stalks.

Grasses and similar plants (rice, wild rice, maize, various grains) as well as numerous tree species are just some of the plants which contain phytoliths. Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Brown basmati rice Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... Species Zizania aquatica Zizania latifolia Zizania palustris Zizania texana The four species of wild rice comprise the genus Zizania, a group of grasses that grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams. ... “Corn” redirects here. ...

Phytoliths are very robust in nature, and are useful in archaeology, since they can be used to reconstruct the plants present at a site or an area within a site even though the rest of the plant parts have been burned up or dissolved. Occasionally, paleontologists find and identify phytoliths associated with extinct plant-eating animals (e.g., herbivores). Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archae, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... A deer and two fawns feeding on some foliage A herbivore is often defined as any organism that eats only plants[1]. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, about 1% of flowering plants and some protists can be considered herbivores. ...

Findings such as these reveal useful information about the diet of these extinct animals, and also shed light on the evolutionary history of many different types of plants. Paleontologists in India have recently identified grass phytoliths in dinosaur dung which strongly suggests the evolution of grasses earlier than previously thought [1]. Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... Dung can refer to: Look up dung in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Phytoliths are mentioned in the writings of Charles Darwin. For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...

References

• Thorn, V. C. 2004. An annotated bibliography of phytolith analysis and atlas of selected New Zealand subantarctic and subalphine phytoliths.
• Meunier, J. D. 2001. Phytoliths: applications in earth sciences and human history.
• Kealhofer, L. 1998. Opal phytoliths in Southeast Asian flora.
• Rapp, G. R. 1992. Phytolith systematics: emerging issues.
• Ciochon, R. L., Piperno, D. R. and Thompson, R. G. 1990. Opal phytoliths found on the teeth of the extinct ape Gigantopithecus blacki: Implications for paleodietary studies. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 87: 8120-8124.
• Piperno, D. R. 1988. Phytolith analysis: an archaeological and geological perspective.
• Twiss, P. C., Suess, E., & Smith, R. M. 1969. Morphological classification of grass phytoliths. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. America.

External links

• Ecological significance of phytoliths
• Background from St. Cloud laboratory
• Association of Environmental Archaeology
• Steve Archer, "About Phytoliths": http://research.history.org/Archaeological_Research/Collections/CollArchaeoBot/PhytoFAQs.cfm .
• Terry B. Ball, "Phytolith Literature Review": http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben282.html .
• Dr. Sanjay Eksambekar's 'Phytolith Research Institute': http://www.phytolithresearch.com