Fossil palm stems from Lower Miocene deposits of Northern Hungary

Erdei, Boglárka and Fodor, Rozália and Prakfalvi, Péter (2024) Fossil palm stems from Lower Miocene deposits of Northern Hungary. STUDIA BOTANICA HUNGARICA, 55 (2). pp. 189-203. ISSN 0301-7001

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Abstract

Fossil stem pieces assigned to palms (Arecaceae) have recently been discovered in Lower Miocene sediments of N Hungary, in the Ilona Valley near Parádfürdő, Mátra Mts and in the Majkász Valley near Bátonyterenye. The stems are silicified to varying degrees. The stem from Ilona Valley – Palmoxylon sp. 1. – represents the upper portion of a stem close to the apical meristem and the crown of leaves, whereas that from the Majkász Valley – Palmoxylon sp. 2. – is a strongly compressed and eroded fraction of a stem. Based on thin sections made of the stems, both display typical palm anatomy showing dispersed fibrovascular bundles in the central cylinder. Since both palm stems had likely been exposed to a longer or shorter transport, the plant association and the palaeoenvironment they thrived in are highly unclear. The occurrence of palms is well in line with previous accounts of the family in coeval localities of the region, e.g. Ipolytarnóc and Salgótarján.

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