Cunoniaceae in the Cretaceous of Europe: Evidence from Fossil Flowers

Fossil flowers of the Cunoniaceae from Late Cretaceous sediments of southern Sweden are described in detail. The flowers are small, bisexual, actinomorphic, tetramerous with broadly attached valvate sepals; they have narrowly attached petals; eight stamens in two whorls; a massive, lobed nectary; a semi-inferior, syncarpous gynoecium with axile placentation; numerous ovules; separate styles; and peltate, probably secretory, trichomes. They share many features with extant representatives of both the Cunoniaceae and Anisophylleaceae. However, the gynoecium structure in particular indicates a closer relationship to the Cunoniaceae. The floral characters are not specific for any extant genus of the family and therefore a new genus and species, Platydiscus peltatus gen. et sp. nov., is formally described. This is the first record of cunoniaceous floral structures from the Northern Hemisphere and the oldest record of Cunoniaceae flowers worldwide. Copyright 2001 Annals of Botany Compan