Sequoia sp.

Teodoridis, Vasilis, Kvaček, Zlatko, Sami, Marco, Utescher, Torsten & Martinetto, Edoardo, 2015, Palaeoenvironmental Analysis Of The Messinian Macrofossil Floras Of Tossignano And Monte Tondo (Vena Del Gesso Basin, Romagna Apennines, Northern Italy), Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 71 (3 - 4), pp. 249-292 : 253

Sequoia sp.

Pl. 1, Figs 9, 12

Leafy twigs covered by scale-like, spirally arranged leaves, closely adhering to the axis or just slightly protruding, differently sized, up to 44 mm long. Needles linear to lanceolate, apex acute, base shortly petiolate and rounded, venation with strong, distinct midrib, often visible dense parallel venation. Winged seed ovate in outline, flattened, 7 mm long and 4 mm wide, curved, base and apex rounded, margin slightly undulate, seed cavity central oblong, 1.5 mm wide, longitudinally furrowed, chalaza and micropyle not distinct, bordered by bifacial asymmetric wings.

Morphologically similar leaf twigs are known from the late Miocene flora of Vegora ( Kvaček et al. 2002), where they are also associated with Taxodium leafy shoots. The seed shows morphologically affinity to the genus Sequoia rather than Quasisequoia couttsiae (HEER) KUNZMANN (see Pingen 1994).

M a t e r i a l. Leafy twigs (Tossignano MSF225, MSF232, M. D. IMG_4667, M. D. IMG_4656), seed (Monte Tondo MSF1953).