A palynological investigation of samples from the Devonian of SW England

The results of a palynological investigation aimed at determining the ages of 17 samples from the Devonian of SW England are reported. A key element in the extraction of determinable spores from these samples was successful oxidation of the material using a strong oxidising agent (fuming Schultze solution – a mixture of potassium chlorate, KClO3, and fuming nitric acid, HNO3). This rendered originally opaque and therefore largely undeterminable spores translucent so that key morphological features on the surface of the spores could be seen. Stratigraphically important species are figured.