The excellent preservation of the Miocene Clarkia locality in north central Idaho has provided for many investigations of the floral components, including their chemical and ultrastructural constituents, and reconstructions of the paleoecosystem. Although fungi and fungal spores were noted in several early studies, a concerted examination of the plant fossils suggested that epiphyllous fungi were rare, partially contradicting other evidence of a warm and humid environment.
Recent collections suggest that epiphyllous fungi are in fact abundant at the locality.
The thyrothecia of Phragmothyrites were found mainly on Persea, Lithocarpus, Betula , and Magnolia , and are uniquely characterized by concentric cell divisions. Stomiopeltites perithecia are non-radiate and ostiolate, and were found on Betula, Smilax and Zeusiphoides . Entopeltacites hyphae were found on leaves of Persea . These findings support the warmer interpretations of the environment and indicate that a thriving epiphyllous fungal community was present in this paleoecosystem.