Spiny, husk-like infrutescences ("frilly fruits") are described from the Oligocene Catahoula Formation from near Huntsville, Texas, and the middle Eocene Claiborne Formation of Tennessee, USA. The fruits are 5.5- 8 mm long and 8 mm wide and have a peduncle up to 10 mm long. They have a central body surrounded by a fibrous flange that becomes thin and paper-like and covered with "fringe" and trichomes toward its periphery. The peduncle also has trichomes of two sizes. Specimens lack seeds and are fractured to show internal carpel walls, which sometimes have vertical stripes similar to those seen in extant Fagus. The general organization of these fruits suggests possible affinities with Fagaceae, particularly Fagus or perhaps Castanea. Associated with these fruits are leaves of the Castenophyllum and Berryophyllum types, some of which may represent the same fagaceous plant. The occurrence of these infructescences in both the western Tennessee Claiborne Formation and the eastern Texas Catahoula Formation floras is significant because it suggests that elements of the middle Eocene Claiborne flora may have migrated westward along the Gulf coastal plain. These infructescences have not been reported from Eocene floras of Texas. The Catahoula Formation represents a very different depositional environment than the fine clays deposited in the oxbow lakes of the Claiborne. The Catahoula, which contains large amounts of volcanic ash, was most likely deposited in a tidal flat-paralic marginal marine environment.

Key words: Catahoula, Claiborne, Eocene Floras, Fagaceae, Oligocene Floras