Appofructus E.M.FRIIS, K.R.PEDERSEN et P.R.CRANE, 2019

Friis, Else Marie, Crane, Peter R. & Pedersen, Kaj Raunsgaard, 2019, The Early Cretaceous Mesofossil Flora Of Torres Vedras (Ne Of Forte Da Forca), Portugal: A Palaeofloristic Analysis Of An Early Angiosperm Community, Fossil Imprint 75 (2), pp. 153-257 : 193

Genus Appofructus E.M.FRIIS, K.R.PEDERSEN et P.R.CRANE gen. nov.

T y p e. Designated here. Appofructus nudus E.M.FRIIS ,

P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN gen. et sp. nov.

P l a n t F o s s i l N a m e s R e g i s t r y N u m b e r.

PFN000459 (for new genus).

E t y m o l o g y. From the part name Appo in Appomattoxia and fructus (Latin for fruit) to indicate close relationship between the two genera.

D i a g n o s i s. Small, isolated unilocular and one-seeded fruits. Fruits rounded with an oblique stalk at the base of the ventral margin. Stigma sessile, rounded. Fruit wall thin with smooth outer surface lacking trichomes. Pollen grains monocolpate, oblate, circular to elliptical in equatorial outline, tectate, almost smooth with microechinate surface sculpturing.

D i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e s.Fruitsof Appofructus are similar to fruits of Appomattoxia in general form and organization, but differ mainly in the lack of trichomes on the fruit wall. The tectate, monocolpate pollen associated with Appofructus is also very similar to the pollen associated with Appomattoxia . Several, small fruits or fruiting units comparable to Appofructus in gross morphology are known from Cretaceous mesofossil floras. However, most are follicular and contain several seeds; for example, as in the follicles of Paisia pantoporata E.M.FRIIS, M.M.MENDES et K.R.PEDERSEN described from the Catefica mesofossil flora ( Friis et al. 2018e). Except for Appomattoxia , none of these early angiosperm fruiting units are associated with monocolpate, microechinate pollen.