Cornus piggae facts for kids

Cornus piggae is an extinct type of dogwood tree. This means it no longer exists today. We know about it from fossil fruits found in North Dakota, USA. These fossils are from a time called the Late Paleocene period. Cornus piggae is special because it's the only fossil dogwood fruit found in North America so far. It's also the oldest known species in its group, the Cornus subgenus Cornus.

Discovering Cornus piggae

The fossils of Cornus piggae were found in North Dakota, USA. They came from a rock layer called the Sentinel Butte Formation. This area is near the towns of Almont, North Dakota and Beicegal Creek. Scientists know these rocks are from the Tiffanian age. This age is based on other fossils found there, like ancient mammals.

Most of the fifteen fossil fruits were found near Almont. The rest were found near Beicegal Creek. These fossils are now kept in different museums and university collections. Some are at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Others are at the University of Florida and Arizona State University.

Who Studied These Fossils?

A team of paleobotanists studied these ancient fruits. They were Steven R. Manchester from the University of Florida. Also, Xiao-Ping Xiang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. And Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang from North Carolina State University.

In 2010, these scientists officially described Cornus piggae. They published their findings in a science journal. They named the species piggae to honor Professor Kathleen Pigg. She has made many important contributions to the study of ancient plants.

What Did Cornus piggae Look Like?

The fossil fruits of Cornus piggae are quite small. They are usually about 5 to 7 millimeters wide. They are also 5 to 10 millimeters long. This is smaller than fruits from other dogwood species, both living and extinct.

Here are some features of the fruits:

• They have a smooth surface.
• They do not have any ridges or bumps.
• Each fruit contains two or three small chambers inside. These chambers are called locules.
• The top of the fruit has small openings. These openings helped the seeds sprout.

Scientists studied the tiny cell structures of the fruits. This helped them confirm that Cornus piggae belongs to the dogwood family. The special chambers inside the fruit walls also showed it belongs to the Cornus subgenus Cornus.