Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) pollen from the Miocene of eastern China

Author(s)
Yu-Sheng Liu, Reinhard Zetter, David-Kay Ferguson, Charley ZOU
Abstract

A newly discovered fossil pollen taxon is described as Lagerstroemia cathayensis sp. nov. on the basis of a combination of morphological characters including prolate shape with no or weakly developed pseudocolpi and rugulate-verrucate tectum. The fossil pollen was recovered from a Miocene deposit in Zhejiang province, eastern China. It resembles pollen of extant Lagerstroemia subcostata Koehne and L. limii Merrill, both species still occurring near the fossil site in Zhejiang province and further extending into other regions of southern China, Japan, India and the Pilippines. This record represents the only description of Cenozoic pollen grains of the genus Lagerstroemia from East Asia examined by means of scanning electron microscopy. The occurence or Lagerstroemia together with some temperate plants (i.e. Keteleeria, Acer, Carpinus, Fagus) at the fossil site suggests that the climate in eastern China during the Miocene was imilar to that of today.

Organisation(s)
Department of Palaeontology
External organisation(s)
East Tennessee State University
Journal
Grana: an international journal of palynology and aerobiology with world pollen and spore flora
Volume
47
Pages
262-271
No. of pages
10
ISSN
0017-3134
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/00173130802457255
Publication date
2008
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105117 Palaeobotany
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/0cee41e3-c1dd-43d2-b5fa-dc9e58b6d34e