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The late Early/early Middle Miocene flora from Parschlug (Styria, Austria) is famous for its numerous specimens and high diversity. Some taxa previously described are revised here and 42 new angiosperm leaf morphotypes/taxa are described. The Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) is applied to assess the palaeoclimate. An update of the tool to assess the most suitable modern climate CLAMP calibration dataset is introduced. The Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis, assessing the most likely major vegetation type represented by a fossil flora, and similarity approaches Drudges 1 and 2, indicating the most similar modern vegetation proxies, had been previously applied to data from Parschlug. Both are again applied here on the enlarged floristic spectrum. The results indicate “sclerophyllous subhumid forest” as the most likely major zonal vegetation type for Parschlug and European vegetation, namely “Thermophilous mixed deciduous broadleaved forests”, distributed today in southern and southeastern Europe, as the most similar modern vegetation. The climate for Parschlug, inferred from CLAMP and the climate in the region of the modern vegetation proxies, indicates distinct seasonality in precipitation and temperature.

The fossil flora from brackish late Burdigalian (Ottnangian) sediments in Brno-Líšeň (the Czech Republic) contributes to our knowledge of floristic evolution and palaeoclimatic changes in the Western Carpathians. The fossil material investigated for this study comprises fragmentary leaf imprints, few fruits/seeds, and dispersed pollen from a single palynomorph-rich sample. Macro remains include 3 ferns (Osmunda parschlugiana, Salvinia reussii, ?Polypodiaceae gen. et sp. indet.) and 17 angiosperms (e.g., Daphnogene polymorpha, “Parrotia” pristina, Leguminophyllum spp., Podocarpium podocarpum, cf. Engelhardia orsbergensis, Ulmus sp., Schoenoplectiella cf. ragozinii). The palynospectrum comprises 106 taxa, including abundant palaeotropical elements of zonal evergreen forest, i.e., Sapotaceae, Palmae, Engelhardia, Platycarya, Fagaceae, Araliaceae and Cornus-Mastixia, accompanied by arctotertiary elements of deciduous zonal forest (Quercus, Carpinus, Fagus, Carya, Juglans, Tilia, Betula, Parrotia) and deciduous azonal (riparian) forest (e.g., Alnus, Salix, Ulmus). Aquatic plants, algae (Prasinophyceae, Botryococcus) and marine dinoflagellates indicate a marine environment with freshwater impact. Plant taxa possibly representing open areas such as Olea, Celtis, Buxus, Ephedra, Rosaceae and Poaceae are sporadic, as well as conifers of extrazonal forest such as Cedrus, Tsuga, Picea. The studied palynospectrum contains abundant thermophilic elements and does not point to a cooling event, as reported by previous authors from the Polish part of the Carpathian Foredeep.

Based on a fossil fruit from the early Miocene strata of the Most Basin in Northern Bohemia (Czech Republic), a new species of the genus Halesia L. of the family Styracaceae is described as Halesia mosbruggeri Kvacek, sp. nov. The fossil occurrence of this genus, which today shows a disjunct distribution, adds a further evidence for the ancient connection between North America and Eurasia during the Neogene.

We present the oldest known occurrences of crown-group Trochodendraceae based on new material from the Palaeocene of Wyoming, USA. Two genera are recognized, Trochodendron and Eotrochion gen. nov. The fossil fruit of Trochodendron infernense sp. nov. is represented by a pedicellate, apically dehiscent capsular fruit composed of nine follicle-like units, each bearing a persistent convex style. The basal part is ornamented with numerous raised stamen scars. From the same deposits, Eotrochion is represented by infructescences, fruits and associated leaves. The infructescences are racemes of numerous apically dehiscent capsules, each with c. 14–16 styles, each with an underlying nectary and receptacles lacking stamen scars, but possessing a prominent perianth scar. A phylogenetic assessment of the modern species, plus representatives of four extinct genera of fossil Trochodendraceae based on available morphological characters, yields a favoured topology of Trochodendron(Eotrochion(Concavistylon kvacekii(C. wehrii (Pentacentron, Tetracentron)))). A parsimony analysis of currently available characters indicates that C. wehrii renders Concavistylon non-monophyletic. Accordingly, we transfer it to Paraconcavistylon gen. nov., characterized by pendent, rather than erect infructescences. We also reconsider the extinct Nordenskioeldia (Late Cretaceous to Miocene), the prior placement of which in Trochodendraceae has been challenged, and we consider it to fall outside the crown group of the family.

A recently recovered site of plant macrofossils, Ludvíkovice, in the České středohoří Mts. is situated on Sokolí vrch hill, belonging to the Děčín Formation (radiometrically dated to 30.8–24.7 Ma), according to regional stratigraphy. The flora has yielded a fern, Rumohra recentior, and several angiosperms, but no conifers. The prevailing foliage is preserved without cuticles. Noteworthy are records of Daphnogene cinnamomifolia, Laurophyllum cf. acutimontanum, Platanus neptuni, Sloanea artocarpites, Carya fragiliformis / C. quadrangula, Alnus rhenana, Trigonobalanopsis rhamnoides, Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis and cf. Quercus sp. Several foliage specimens of dicots could not be identified to species level, i.e., Leguminophyllum sp., Pungiphyllum cf. cruciatum and Dicotylophyllum sp. div. The fossil plant assemblage of Ludvíkovice corresponds to zonal mesophytic vegetation accompanied by riparian elements. This is corroborated by the Integrated Plant Record vegetation analysis, which reconstructs a zonal broad-leaved evergreen forest similar to the living broad-leaved evergreen sclerophyllous forest from Southern Hunan and Northern Guangxi in SE China. The vegetation thrived under a humid climate characterized by average values of MAT (14.6–24.1 °C), WMMT (24.7–28.3 °C), CMMT (2.2–18.8 °C) and MAP (979–1724 mm). The fossil flora of Ludvíkovice is similar in composition to the floras of Markvartice, Veselíčko, also from the Oligocene Děčín Formation of the České středohoří Mts. and the Hrazený hill.

A single sterile compression matching Baragwanathia Lang et Cookson in all important morphological traits – a dichotomously branched stem densely covered with sub-parallel abaxially slightly bent linear microphylls partly truncate and partly rounded at tips – was discovered in the upper Silurian Požary Formation at Karlstejn in the Barrandian area (Czech Republic). The fossil is assigned to a new species Baragwanathia brevifolia Kraft et Kvacek, sp. nov. and its stratigraphical position is dated by co-occurring graptolites (lower Přidoli, Neocolonograptus ultimus Biozone). Due to the compression and high degree of coalification, no anatomical data are available to prove unambiguously the affinity to vascular plants but medial strands in microphylls indicate thicker tissue of a single midrib unknown in algae. Although the studied fossil recalls superficially hemichordates (graptolites) or hydroids this view is demonstrably denied by several reliable characters. A part of the stem is covered by epibiontic fauna (bryozoans and brachiopods) proving that it dwelled submerged in marine water environment. Based on the attached epibionts an attempt is made to visualize the life mode of this plant as growing in marine environment and possibly stretching out of the water by parts not colonized by epibionts. All direct and indirect evidences convincingly indicate the fossil to be an aquatic precursor of dry-land microphyllous plants, i.e. lycophytes. It is a significant piece of puzzle to the global high-resolution paleogeography of the Gondwanan margin.

Plant fossil assemblages (foliage, fruits and seeds, pollen, wood) from the Pliocene and early Pleistocene deposits in W Bohemia (the Vildstejn Formation of the Cheb Basin, Tachov/Cheb–Domažlice/ Graben) are newly analysed using several palaeoenvironmental methods with the aim to reconstruct palaeovegetation and palaeoclimatic changes. Floras of four subsequent stratigraphic levels show a decrease of exotic elements in the Pliocene and a massive immigration of boreal elements in the early Pleistocene. Vegetation changes start with broad-leaved deciduous and mixed mesophytic forests and continue towards light forests of the mentioned types in areas of zonal to extrazonal habitats. This vegetational change is characterised by an immigration of dry herbaceous and sclerophyllous elements. Wetland communities from higher positions in the profiles stepwise loose exotic components and point to cool–temperate conditions similar to the present conditions. Palaeoclimatic signals show warmer and more humid conditions for the Pliocene levels (about 15 °C of mean annual temperature, 5 °C of mean temperature of the coldest month and 25 °C of mean temperature of the warmest month, more than 900 mm of mean annual precipitation). Early Pleistocene proxy data indicate the beginning of a cooler phase at the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (about 7 °C of mean annual temperature and decreasing trend of precipitation), but conditions not colder than those of the present day in the NW part of the Bohemian Massif.

The Pliocene flora of Frankfurt am Main described by Karl Mädler during the first half of the twentieth century is a key flora for the European Pliocene. In the present study, we revised the leaf fossil taxa described by Mädler and investigated plant material collected after Mädler’s publication. The revised and augmented floral list comprises seven new species and some new combinations of taxa described by Mädler. In total, 16 gymnosperm species in 15 genera and 73 angiosperm species (of which 15 could not be assigned to a genus) in 40 genera are recognised in the leaf record. Main characteristics of the flora are the high diversity of conifers, the diverse assemblage of exclusively deciduous Fagaceae, including six species of oaks, and the high diversity of Rosaceae. These features indicate cool temperate climatic conditions (comparable to Lugano in southern Switzerland). Angiosperm genera that are today confined to North America and/or East Asia (Eucommia,MagnoliaandSassafras) also are deciduous, whereas evergreen taxa are shrubs typical of the understorey (Buxus,Ilex,Pachysandra,Prunus lusitanicatype) andViscum. Eighteen taxa recorded in the Pliocene of Frankfurt am Main are today absent from western Eurasia and eastern North America, and 25 taxa are absent from western North America. This shows (i) a strong biogeographic link of the Pliocene flora of Frankfurt am Main with East Asia, (ii) surprisingly high levels of speciation (Pliocene endemisms) and (iii) that the European flora was more diverse in woody species shortly before the onset of major Pleistocene glaciations than today.

Large areas of Earth’s continents were covered by temperate forests before the dramatic increase of the human population in the past two millennia. Prior to human expansion, temperate forests were more extensive in the Neogene (23–2.6 Ma) when climate at the middle latitudes was slightly warmer and more equable than at the present. These temperate forests exhibited a high diversity of plant taxa, higher than today in several geographical areas. Such high diversity in the past can be explained by two reasons. First, angiosperms originated in the Cretaceous and underwent an important phylogenetic diversification during and shortly after that period. These new plant lineages easily dispersed between North America and Eurasia, and biogeographic range expansions continued across other continents. Second, since the Eocene/Oligocene transition (c. 34 Ma), several members of tropical/subtropical lineages adapted to cooler conditions and entered the warmer temperate realm. An equable climate with abundant precipitation in widespread areas provided a suitable habitat for moisture-requiring woody plants. The higher floristic diversity in the Neogene compared to the present is best illustrated by European fossil plants and, to a lesser extent, by those in North America. The area covered by temperate forests in South America decreased consistently after the late Miocene, and the dominant woody plants of the Neogene remained only in the westernmost regions. A floristic impoverishment is not clearly documented in Australia, where there was a much higher diversity of conifers in the Oligocene-Miocene than today. Beginning some 6 million years ago, several global intervals of colder and/or drier climate reduced the habitat of those taxa that required nonfreezing temperatures and moisture, finally resulting in a large mass extirpation/extinction of thermophilous plants in western Eurasia. This turnover occurred primarily between 3.5 and 1.0 million years ago. The trend was different in eastern Eurasia where extirpation/extinction has been rather limited. In conclusion, the mid-latitudes of all the continents witnessed a triumph of the extension and diversity of temperate forests from about 34 to 3 million years ago (Oligocene-Pliocene) and, in many temperate places, these grew under wetter and warmer conditions than today.

Accumulations of Osmunda (Plenasium) lignitum (Giebel) Stur fern foliage have been recently recovered in the Oligocene deposits of northern Italy at Cassinelle and western Germany at Niederpleis-1 (Sankt Augustin; Winterscheid 2006). They morphologically match other European records distributed from the Eocene to the Oligocene (– early Miocene). Material from both sites represents sterile pinnae compressions with preserved leaf anatomy. The data obtained on leaf cuticles correspond to most of the previous findings from Germany (Geiseltal, Seifhennersdorf, Haselbach) but cast doubts on some others based on dispersed cuticles (e.g. Zülpich). Comparison with living species of Osmunda (Plenasium) from east and south-east Asia revealed only minor differences in the epidermal structure and stress the close relationship with Osmunda banksiifolia (C. Presl) Kuhn distributed along valley streams from China, Japan to Indonesia, New Guinea and Philippines.

The leaf remains described herein came from the oldest sites of the Cainozoic deposits in the Lower Rhine Embayment, located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field at the south-eastern border of this basin, in the area of Siebengebirge and vicinity. These revisited floras are bound to pre-volcanic siliciclastic facies of the Siebengebirge Mts., interpreted as marginal facies of the Köln Formation. Chronostratigraphically they are assigned to the late Oligocene (Chattian). The described leaf remains are partially compressions with preserved epidermal anatomy, and therefore highly useful for systematic determination of leaf impressions recovered from other localities of siliciclastic facies. On account of the epidermal characteristics of leaf compressions varying in gross morphology, the previously determined taxa Quercus goepperti, Laurus phoeboides, and Persea speciosa all fall into the abundantly represented Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis. The siliciclastic deposits originated in coastal and flood plain areas within fluviatile environments of variable deposition energy. Remains of Taxodium dubium, Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis, Populus germanica, and Daphnogene cinnamomifolia dominate among the recovered fossils. The general aspects of this plant assemblage correspond, together with their sedimentary settings, to riparian forest vegetation with mesophytic elements.

The Oligocene palaeontological locality on Matrý Hill near Sebuzín in the České středohoří Mts., North Bohemia, belongs to the Děčín Formation and is dated to 30.8-24.7 Ma according to the regional stratigraphy. It has yielded, in addition to insects from the Heteroptera group, a fossil bee Apis petrefacta and palaeobatrachid frogs, also numerous plant remains. Their recovery began in 1996. The plant fossil assemblage consists mostly of leaf impressions, occasionally accompanied by casts or impressions of fruits. Noteworthy are records of a fern Woodwardia muensteriana, conifers Pinus cf. rigios, P. cf. hepios, Calocedrus suleticensis, Tetraclinis salicornioides, Torreya bilinica, cf. Cephalotaxus parvifolia and numerous angiosperms, e.g. Liriodendron haueri, Daphnogene cinnamomifolia, Platanus neptuni, Cercidiphyllum crenatum, Sloanea artocarpites, Ulmus pyramidalis, Celtis pirskenbergensis, Carya fragiliformis, C. quadrangula, Betula brongniartii, B. dryadum, Alnus rhenana, A. cf. kefersteinii, Carpinus grandis, Ostrya atlantidis, Acer crenatifolium, A. cf. palaeosaccharinum, A. integrilobum and Craigia bronnii. Several angiosperm foliage specimens of both monocots and dicots have not yet been identified to a particular genus and species. The fossil plant assemblage at Matrý corresponds to two vegetation types, i.e. a zonal riparian forest and zonal mixed mesophytic forest, as corroborated by the Integrated Plant Record vegetation analysis. The vegetation thrived under a humid climate, characterized by average values of MAT (13.4 °C), WMMT (23.8 °C), CMMT (3.6 °C) and MAP (1,117 mm). The Matry fossil flora is similar in composition to the flora of Žichov from the same Oligocene Děčín Formation in the České středohoří Mts.

Valid publication of new names of fossil plant taxa published since 1 January 1996 requires a diagnosis or description in English, besides other requirements included in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, Australia, July 2011 (McNeill et al. 2012). In order to validate names published from the late Eocene flora of the Staré Sedlo Formation, North Bohemia, diagnosed only in German (Knobloch et al. 1996), English translations are provided, including references to the type material and further relevant information.

An extensive collection of nearly 4200 fossil plants remains from lower Miocene deposits at Bilina and Břesťany were examined for signs of damage caused by arthropods. Determining the frequency and diversity of plant–arthropod interactions was the main objective, followed by a comparison of the level of damage to plant taxa for which there were at least 25 specimens. There were significant differences in the frequencies of the damage caused by the different functional feeding groups in the whole assemblage and individual taxa. Comparison of the diversity of the different types of damage by rarefying their five occurrences also confirmed the differences in the levels attained. The highest diversity was recorded for deciduous trees ( Alnus , Nyssa and Populus ). The organisms that caused some of the highly specific types of damage, such as mining and oviposition, were taxonomically identified on the basis of their unique morphological traits. There was one remarkable non-herbivore plant–arthropod interaction represented by a solitary record of a caddisfly case built exclusively of Taxodium needles.

New records of fruits of Banisteriaecarpum giganteum (Göppert) Kräusel from the middle and late Miocene of Austria and Hungary and the Pliocene of Romania regularly associated with foliage of Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium (A. Braun) Knobloch & Kvaček confirm previous views of Czeczott, Ţicleanu and others that the two organs belong to a single plant related to Malvaceae s.l. and not to Mapighiaceae, as previously assumed by Schenk, Kräusel and Kirchheimer. According to the fruit morphology it is closely similar to Tarrietia Blume (tropical SE Asia and Africa, sometimes included together with Argyrodendron F. Muel. to Heritiera Dryand. in Ait.), with which it partly shares habitats (swamp to riparian forests) and decidedly differs in foliage (leaves strongly asymmetric ovate vs symmetric simple ovate to elongate or palmately compound) and climatic requirements (warm temperate vs tropical conditions). Its pollen has not yet been firmly discriminated. The fossils so far assigned to Tarrietia from Europe must be excluded from this genus: Tarrietia hungarica Rásky from the early Oligocene of Hungary was assumed by Andreánszky as legume fruits (Machaerites hungaricus (Rásky) Andreánszky), Tarrietia germanica Rüffle from the early Miocene of Germany, according to fine venation pattern, may also represent a monospermic legume pod

In Pliocene sedimentary successions of northern and central Italy, fossil swamp forests are relatively common. Most of them pertain to the Piacenzian stage and show a dominance of the conifer Glyptostrobus europaeus as an arboreal element. A new fossil forest that recently cropped out at Fossano in the Piedmont region represents the first Zanclean assemblage of this type. Herein, we describe the context of the site and report the consistent stratigraphic and palaeofloral results so far obtained, also highlighting the need of more detailed future studies. Our results demonstrate that the fossil stumps exposed at Fossano pertain to two superposed forest beds, and the upper one is covered by a dense buried litter of Glyptostrobus europaeus shoots. Therefore, this conifer species is reconstructed as a dominant arboreal plant also in this fossil forest. Other interesting palaeontological information about the Pliocene succession of this relatively neglected area is provided by underlying and overlaying layers. Detailed macropalaeobotanical studies on leaves, fruits and seeds, provide good evidence for the palaeoecological and biochronological characterization of the succession. The integrated plant records (pollen and plant macrofossils) studied in a short interval of the succession correspond with the macrofossil records of the rest of the succession and point to the reconstruction of a “subtropical humid forest” grown under a very warm temperate climate regime, with a small range of temperatures and abundant and well-distributed rainfall throughout the year.

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New compression leaf material of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) has been recognised in the European Cenozoic. A leaflet of Ceratozamia floersheimensis (Engelhardt) Kvaček was recovered among unidentified material from the Oligocene of Trbovlje, former Trifail, Slovenia, housed in old collections of the Austrian Geological Survey, Vienna. It is similar in morphology and epidermal anatomy to other specimens previously studied from the lower Oligocene of Flörsheim, Germany and Budapest, Hungary. A fragmentary leaflet assigned to C. hofmannii Ettingsh. was recovered in the uppermost part of the Most Formation (Most Basin in North Bohemia, Czech Republic) and dated by magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy to CHRON C5Cn.3n, that is, the latest early Miocene. It yielded excellently preserved epidermal structures, permitting confirmation of the generic affinity and a more precise comparison with this lower Miocene species previously known from Austria (Münzenberg, Leoben Basin) and re-investigated earlier. Both the Oligocene and Miocene populations of Ceratozamia are based on isolated disarticulated leaflets matching some living representatives in the size and slender form of the leaflets. Such ceratozamias thrive today in extratropical areas near the present limits of distribution of the genus along the Sierra Madre Orientale in north-eastern Mexico, in particular C. microstrobila Vovides & J.D. Rees and others of the C. latifolia complex, as well as C. hildae G.P. Landry & M.C. Wilson (“bamboo cycad”). The occurrence of Ceratozamia suggests subtropical to warm-temperate, almost frostless climate and a high amount of precipitation. The accompanied fossil vegetation of both species corresponds well with the temperature regime. While the Oligocene species in Hungary probably thrived under sub-humid conditions, the remaining occurrences of fossil Ceratozamia were connected with humid evergreen to mixed-mesophytic forests.

A new plant assemblage of Cerová-Lieskové from Lower Miocene (Karpatian) deposits in the Vienna Basin (western Slovakia) is preserved in a relatively deep, upper-slope marine environment. Depositional conditions with high sedimentation rates allowed exceptional preservation of plant remains. The plant assemblage consists of (1) conifers represented by foliage of Pinus hepios and Tetraclinis salicornioides, a seed cone of Pinus cf. ornata, and by pollen of the Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Pinus sp. and Cathaya sp., and (2) angiosperms represented by Cinnamomum polymorphum, Platanus neptuni, Potamogeton sp. and lauroid foliage, by pollen of Liquidambar sp., Engelhardia sp. and Craigia sp., and in particular by infructescences (so far interpreted as belonging to cereal ears). We validate genus and species assignments of the infructescences: they belong to Palaeotriticum Sitár, including P. mockii Sitár and P. carpaticum Sitár, and probably represent herbaceous monocots that inhabited coastal marshes, similar to the living grass Spartina. Similar infructescences occur in the Lower and Middle Miocene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep (Slup in Moravia), Tunjice Hills (Žale in Slovenia), and probably also in the Swiss Molasse (Lausanne). This plant assemblage demonstrates that the paleovegetation was represented by evergreen woodland with pines and grasses in undergrowth, similar to vegetation inhabiting coastal brackish marshes today. It also indicates subtropical climatic conditions in the Vienna Basin (central Paratethys), similar to those implied by other coeval plant assemblages from Central Europe

Alonissos (Iliodroma) Island is really famous to palaeobotanists because of the type locality of Glyptostrobus europaeus (Brongniart) Unger only. Since the first report of the latter holotype no palaeobotanical work has taken place in Alonissos. This is the first research of the fossiliferous locality, along with new palaeobotanical, palynological and gastropod findings, revealed after 200 years. Among the collected material, a xylitic specimen was studied and identified as Pinuxylon alonissianum Mantzouka & Sakala, sp. nov. The presence of this species points to botanical affinities with sections of Diploxylon Pines (Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana (Engelm.) Shaw, P. arizonica Engelm., P. arizonica var. cooperi (C.E.Blanco) Farjon, P. engelmannii Carriere and P. jeffreyi Balf.) especially from Central America (Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental of Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon and Sierra Nevada). This is the first research of this kind revealing as the Nearest Relative bioprovince of the studied Greek fossil pine wood Central America and not Himalayas or Asia. Moreover, a palynological study and an analysis of fossil molluscs were carried out for the first time, giving more data regarding the palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate of the area. Finally, the holotype of Glyptostrobus europaeus (Brongniart) Unger, housed in the collections of the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN), is found, photographed and presented for the first time.

The early Burdigalian (MN3) plant assemblage of the Güvem area (northwestern Central Anatolia) is preserved in lacustrine sediments of the Dereköy pyroclastics. Its age is well constrained by radiometric dates of basaltic rocks bracketing the pyroclastics, making the Güvem flora one of the extremely few precisely dated early Miocene floras in the Mediterranean region. The rich assemblage of impression fossils comprises ferns and fern allies (2 species), gymnosperms (12 spp.) and angiosperms (129 spp.).Ilex miodipyrenasp. nov. is described as a new fossil-species. The most diverse families in the assemblage are the Fagaceae with 12 taxa and the Fabaceae with 12 leaf morphotypes and one fruit taxon. Aquatic plants are represented by seven taxa, riparian (including palms) and swamp forest elements by >35 taxa, and lianas by three taxa (Smilaxspp.,Chaneya). The relatively large number of aquatic and riparian/swamp elements is congruent with the rich fish, amphibian and reptile record of the Güvem area. Another characteristic feature of the plant assemblage is the presence of various lobed leaves which show similarities with modern species of different families (e.g.Alangium, various Malvales). Trees and shrubs growing on well-drained soils and forming closed-canopy and open-canopy forests are the most diversified group (>70 taxa). In terms of number of specimens in the collection and based on field observations, by far the most abundant leaf fossils belong to evergreen oaks ofQuercus drymejaandQ. mediterraneaand to various types of foliage that cannot be assigned to a particular extant or extinct genus of Fagaceae. These sclerophyllous trees must have covered vast areas surrounding the wetlands that developed during the early Miocene in the Güvem Basin. Based on a recent reassessment of the ecology and taxonomic affinity of these trees, they are considered to reflect humid temperate climatic conditions but with a brief drier season during the winter months. These forests are more similar to the laurel forests of the southeastern United States and those stretching in a narrow belt south of the Himalayas to eastern central China. The large number of Fabaceae may indicate the presence of warm subtropical environments but this is difficult to assess, as they are known for having wide ecological ranges today and in the past. All in all, a larger part of the plant taxa point to forested vegetation. This is in agreement with previous palynological studies which detected only small amounts of herbaceous and grass pollen. Open patches of vegetation may have been restricted to river banks and to rocky areas in a volcanic landscape. The biogeographic patterns detected for the early Miocene of the Güvem assemblage are manifold; most taxa are widespread Northern Hemispheric elements. A substantial part of the species migrated from Asia into Europe during the (late) Paleogene and reached Anatolia during the early Miocene (Fagus,Paliurus,Chaneya,Ailanthus,Quercus kubinyii,Davallia haidingeri,Acer angustilobum,A. palaeosaccharinum). Fewer taxa may have been in Anatolia before they migrated to Europe (e.g.Nerium,Smilax miohavanensis,Quercus sosnowskyi). Finally, very few taxa are Anatolian endemics (e.g.Ilex miodipyrena).

The evolution of plant ecosystems during the Cenophytic was complex and influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors. Among abiotic forces were tectonics, the distribution of continents and seas, climate, and fires; of biotic factors were herbivores, pests, and intra- and interspecific competition. The genus Quercus L. (Quercoideae, Fagaceae) evolved in this context to become an established member of the plant communities of the Northern Hemisphere, commencing in the Paleogene and spreading to a diverse range of environments in the later Cenozoic. Its palaeontological record, dominated by leaves and pollen, but also including wood, fruits and flowers, is widespread in Eurasia and North America. Consequently, a great number of species have been described, from the 19th century to the present day. Although Quercus is currently an ecologically and economically important component of the forests in many places of the Northern Hemisphere and Southeastern Asia, no comprehensive summary of its fossil record exists. The present work, written by an international team of palaeobotanists, provides the first synthesis of the fossil history of the oaks from their appearance in the early Paleogene to the Quaternary., Museo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España, Laboratory of Palaeobotany, Komarov Botanical Institute, Rusia, Faculty of Science, Charles University, República Checa, Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Japón, School of Life Sciences and Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (BioKIC), Arizona State University, Estados Unidos, Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, España, Department of Earth Science and College of Creative Studies, University of California, Estados Unidos, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main, Alemania, Steinmann Institute, University of Bonn, Alemania, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

article i nfo Previously known Eocene floras of mid-latitudinal Europe are analysed using statistical methodologies in order to obtain more reliable palaeoclimatological signals to detect possible climatic fluctuations during this time interval. Only macrofossil assemblages have been taken into account and subjected to the statistical evaluation called the Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis, which is based mostly on percentages of various components. Additional palaeoclimatic approaches were employed, namely the Coexistence Approach, based on autecology of the nearest living relatives, and the physiognomic methods of the Leaf Margin Analysis and Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP). The same statistical approaches have been applied to analogous living vegetation of China and Japan for comparative purposes. Additionally, an update of objective statistical tools for the selection of the best-suited modern vegetation CLAMP dataset from 144 site (Physg3br/GRIDMet3br), 173 (Physg3ar/GRIDMet3ar) and 189 (PhysgAsia1/GRIDMetAsia1) extant biotopes is proposed including its "copy & paste" Excel application.

Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and herbivorous interactions are dated back more than 400 million yr. However, investigation of their associations remains in its infancy in Europe. The Miocene is characterized by palaeogeographic re-organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. Antarctica's enormous impact on global climatic conditions, and thus on European palaeoenvironment, resulted from a series of episodes of minor glaciations in the Early Miocene after the initial cooling and ice sheet formed during the Oligocene. More than 3500 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damage were available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified according to their external morphology into damage types (DT) and grouped to functional feeding-groups. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse, offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeoherbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bilina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding the principal factors that caused the observed phenomena. The research was focused on two horizons—Delta Sandy Horizon (DSH) and Lake Clayey Horizon (LCH)—both sufficiently represented to compare their palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological signals on the basis of the presence of damages caused by insects and other herbivorous arthropods. A total sample of 60 different damage types, attributed to eight main functional feeding groups, was examined. Results from analyses of the frequency and diversity of the selected categories of plant arthropod associations within both examined horizons significantly support different environmental conditions. The LCH seems to be affected by the relatively colder and drier climatic conditions as indicated by a four times greater frequency of leaves with galls and lower taxonomic diversity and species equability, whereas DSH indicates warmer and more humid conditions reflecting the higher diversity of the plant species and damage types.

Reinvestigation of cycadalean leaf and leaflet remains from the Eocene of Hamilton Bay, Alaska, and La Porte, California, using features of epidermal anatomy as well as macromorphology, indicates that these remains, which were formerly assigned to modern cycad genera, conform to the extinct genus Dioonopsis Horiuchi et Kimura first described from the Paleocene of Japan. Recognition of Dioonopsis praespinulosa (Hollick) Erdei, Manchester et Kvacek comb. nov. from Alaska and Dioonopsis macrophylla (Potbury) Erdei, Manchester et Kvacek comb. et stat. nov. from California supports the existence of the Dioonopsis lineage in North America during the early Cenozoic. The occurrence of this genus in the Eocene of western North America as well as Japan, combined with its apparent absence in the European Tertiary, indicates that it probably spread via the Beringial phytogeographic pathway and was thus adapted to occupy high-latitude environments. Among modern cycad genera, Dioon fits best to the macro- and micromorp...

Foliage morphotypes of fossil Fagaceae similar to Castanea document for the Eocene and Oligocene of Europe important deciduous accessory elements of the Notophyllous Evergreen and Mixed Mesophytic Forest types. These detached leaf fossils with partially preserved cuticle structures allow us to discriminate two morphospecies: Castaneophyllum venosum (Rossmassler) Knobloch & Kvacek (Late Eocene) and Castaneophyllum lonchitiformeKvacek & Walther, sp. n. (Oligocene). Both recall foliage of living representatives of Castanea sect. BalanocastanonDode (chinquapins) and partly Quercus L. while detailed epidermal anatomy indicates more straightforward affinities to the Castaneoideae s.s., namely Castanea in particular, by broader bases of glandular trichomes (Castanea- type) and stellate appressed trichomes with thin bases. Similar Neogene morphospecies Quercus drymeja Ung. and Quercus kubinyii (Kovats ex Ettingsh.) Czeczott decidedly differ in almost hairless leaves with a strong hypodermal tissue and simple bases of glandular trichomes matching oaks of the Cerris group. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

article i nfo Newly collected material of Comptonia leaves and fruits (C. naumannii and C. tymensis, respectively) from the lower Miocene of Weichang, China, are studied in detail. The leaves show great similarities in morphology and cuticular structures to those of the single extant species C. peregrina. It suggests a close genetic relationship between C. numannii and C. peregrina. Comptonia was widespread over the Northern Hemisphere during most of the Cenozoic, and obviously migrated into Asia from North America via a continental connection in the Eocene. Due to the cooling of global climate, it may have later gradually evolved into two ecotypes (thermophilous and cold tolerant). In the early Miocene C. naumannii was recorded from Northeast Asia and Alaska, but it disappeared from Alaska in the latest Miocene. The records suggest that plant exchange between Northeast Asia and North America may have ceased after the early Miocene. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New interpretation of leaf fossils from the Neogene of Europe belonging to the family Malvaceae s.l. is given. Morphogenera Dombeyopsis Unger emend., Byttneriophyllum Givulescu ex Knobloch et Kvacek, and Laria G. Worobiec et Kvacek morphogen. nov., considered monotypic in our revision, are newly circumscribed. Particularly well‐preserved leaves representing Dombeyopsis lobata Unger (Auenheim); Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium (A. Braun) Knobloch et Kvacek from Belchatow and Ruja, Poland; and Laria rueminiana (Heer) G. Worobiec et Kvacek comb. nov. from Belchatow were examined for detailed macro‐ and micromorphological studies. A survey of epidermal features and leaf macromorphology in extant Malvaceae s.l. was conducted for comparison with the fossils. All three fossil species studied are malvalean, but none of them corresponds in all details with any of the studied living Malvaceae s.l. Macro‐ and micromorphology of leaves suggest that D. lobata has affinities to subfamily Tilioideae Arn., B. tiliifolium pro...

Extant Berberis is a member of the basal eudicots with a South America (group Australes)-Old World (group Septentrionales) disjunctive distribution pattern. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the formation of this pattern. Recent molecular studies suggest that this pattern was caused by a vicariance event in the Cretaceous. More fossil evidence is required to evaluate these hypotheses. Here a new species of Berberis from the Palaeocene Wuyun flora is established based on a detailed comparison with all other fossil and related living Berberis. The occurrence of a Palaeocene Berberis in NE China and other fossil data suggest that 1) the genus originated in eastern Asia, 2) the leaf venation of the genus probably evolved from pinnate to acrodromous, leaf margins from densely spinose teeth to only occasionally toothed or even entire, 3) the genus would appear to have migrated from eastern Asia to North America in the Oligocene, via Beringia. Berberis probably arrived in Europe from Asia during the late Oligocene when Eurasia was reunited after the retreat of the Turgai Straits. Berberis could have migrated to India from eastern Asia, arriving before the last major upheaval of the Himalayas in the Pleistocene.

Leaf remains of Ilex L. sect. Ilex known from the Pliocene of Auenheim (Alsace, France) and Frankfurt a. M. - Niederrad (Hesse, Germany) as Ilex aff. cornuta Lindley fossilis Geissert and Ilex aquifolium L. fossilis Engelhardt, respectively, are re-interpreted as representing a new species Ilex geissertii Kvacek, Teodoridis et Wang Qing, sp. nov. Similar leaf fossils occur also in the upper Miocene of the Netherlands (Brunssum), France (Murat), and the Pliocene of Italy (Valdarno Superiore). Although these fossil records were considered either direct ancestors of I . aquifolium L. (Near-East, Europe, N Africa) or allied to I. cornuta Lindley and Paxton (China and Korea), both the mentioned extant species differ in the leaf morphology. Close affinities of I. geissertii to several extant representatives of Ilex subsect. Ilex (= Oxyodontae Loesener nom . illegit .) are indisputable and stress a common origin of this group of the hollies known already from the Oligocene in Europe ( Ilex castellii Kvacek et Walther). Several extinct elements of the European late Miocene and Pliocene flora accompanying this new holly (e.g., Ginkgo , Taxodium , Fagus kraeuselii , Parrotia , Craigia , and Trichosanthes ) share similar former phyllogeography in having their modern nearest relatives outside Europe.

Fossil fruits document the former presence of Sloanea L. (Elaeocarpaceae) in Greenland and midlatitude North America during the early Tertiary. First described as Castanea ungeri by Heer in 1869 from the Paleocene of Greenland, the distinctive spiny fruits have since been discovered at several Paleocene to lower Eocene sites in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The fruits are 3–5‐valved capsules 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter, borne on long pedicels. Immature, unopened capsules show a single persistent style. The capsules open from the apex with valves separating to the lower 10% of the fruit. Each valve has a smooth inner surface with a pronounced median septum and is ornamented dorsally with closely spaced, erect spines, 4–8 mm long. The North American and Greenlandic fossils are classified together as Sloanea ungeri (Heer) comb. n., a species that extended from the Lower Paleocene (Puercan) to the Lower Eocene (Lost Cabinian) in the Rocky Mountain region. Fruits of Carpites lancensis Dorf from the Late Cretaceous...

A new fossil species of Vallisneria ( V. janecekii Bogner & Kvacek, sp. n., Hydrocharitaceae) is reported from Early Miocene freshwater lake deposits of the North Bohemian brown coal basin (Czech Republic). It is based on a single fragmentary sterile plant bearing two clusters of ribbon-shaped widely serrulate leaves on a short rhizome. It is a potential producer of seeds described from equivalent and slightly older deposits in Saxony (Germany) as Vallisneria ovalis Mai.

Fossil remains of Taxodium from upper Eocene to lower Miocene localities in Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia are investigated to reconsider taxonomic concepts. It is demonstrated that all material belongs to one species which is named Taxodium dubium (Sternberg) Heer emend. Using the whole-plant concept, T. dubium is considered as a synthetic species comprising foliage, seed cones, seeds, and male cones with pollen in situ. Shared identity of T. dubium and the wood morpho-taxon Taxodioxylon taxodii Gothan is assumed. Taxodium dubium underwent evolutionary changes through the Oligocene expressed mainly in changes of the cone scale ornamentation. To designate this intraspecific variation taxonomically two morpho-formae are distinguished: T. dubium forma heerii (Dorofeev) Kunzmann, Kvacek, Mai et Walther stat. nov. et emend. and T. dubium forma dubium. Simultaneous intraspecific variations in leaf morphology and leaf epidermal anatomy are missing. Taxodium dubium occurs from the late Eocene to late Miocene in the (Atlantic-) Boreal province sensu Mai of Central Europe and from the late Oligocene to late Pliocene in the Transeuropean Paratethys province sensu Mai.

There have been many recent advances in angiosperm paleobotany based on studies of reproductive organs, but it remains important that “whole‐plant” concepts not be neglected. Reconstructions of whole fossil plants based on foliage, fruits, seeds, flowers, pollen in situ, and wood are not always easy, but where done well they often yield important new insights. The most convincing whole‐plant reconstructions are accomplished when organs that are normally found separately are found attached. Such occurrences are relatively rare. The repeated co‐occurrence of dispersed organs that share anatomical features provides another acceptable line of evidence for reconstructions. However, mere co‐occurrence, particularly in the case of extinct lineages, provides less‐convincing evidence. An important way to connect dispersed pollen and macrofossils is the study of pollen in situ. Several examples from Platanaceae, Fagaceae, Cercidiphyllaceae, Malvaceae s.l., and Cucurbitaceae show the importance of whole‐plant approa...