A myricaceous male inflorescence with pollen in situ from the middle Eocene of Europe

Abstract

The late middle Eocene lacustrine filling of a maar lake at Eckfeld (Eifel Hills, Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany) has provided four specimens of male inflorescences (catkins) in different stages of anthesis, each with pollen preserved in situ. The appearance of the successive stages together with triporate pollen showing an irregular surface and a myricoid micro-ornamentation clearly suggests an assignment of the fossil catkins to the Myricaceae. The material is described as a new genus and new species and represents the oldest record of male catkins for the family. The in situ preserved pollen grains are comparable to dispersed grains of Triatriopollenites excelsus.