Paleoecology of a Fossil Plant Assemblage from a Pre-Wisconsinan Till in Southern Illinois

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Abstract
Macrofossils and pollen were recovered from a glacial till in Jackson Co., Illinois, assigned to the Early Illinoian Liman Substage. The assemblage is dominated by bryophyte and vascular plant taxa of boreal and boreal-temperate distributions. A few taxa of temperate distribution are also present. The boreal elements are evidently from a glacial period (presumably the Early Illinoian); it is not entirely clear whether the other members of the flora are contemporaneous with the boreal plants or are redeposited from interglacial sediments. Overall, the assemblage is ecologically consistent, and is similar to Late Wisconsinan macrofossil floras in eastern and central North America. Habitats and communities indicated by the assemblage include hardwater lake, calcareous wetland and spruce-fir-tamarack forest or woodland.