Araliaephyllum FONTAINE , 1889

Greguš, Josef & Kvaček, Jiří, 2015, Revision Of Cenomanian Flora From The Maletín Sandstone, Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 71 (3 - 4), pp. 315-364 : 330

Araliaephyllum FONTAINE, 1889

T y p e: Araliaephyllum obtusilobum FONTAINE, 1889, p. 317 , pl. 163, fig. 1, 4; pl. 164, fig. 3 (selected by Andrews 1970).

E m e n d e d d i a g n o s i s. Leaves entire-margined or serrate, palametly dissected, formed by 3–9 lobes per leaf, with long petiole, divided by deeply cut sinusoidal incisions between lobes. Individual lobes elliptical, narrowing to apical part with medial lobe as the largest. Venation actinodromous to palinactinodromous.

D i s c u s s i o n. Araliaephyllum is established on Cretaceous A. obtusilobum from the Lower Cretaceous of Virginia, USA. It appears to be more suitable for our material than Araliophyllum ETTINGSHAUSEN , with type species Araliophyllum dubium ETTINGSHAUSEN from the Miocene of Germany, locality Münzenberg ( Ludwig 1859). A. dubium is represented by pentalobate to pentasectate leaves, with widely elliptical to ovate lobes. Individual lobes are narrowly cuneate at the base. Araliaephyllum differs from Araliophyllum ETTINGSHAUSEN in having lobes divided by sinusoidal incisions between lobes. Němejc (1975) introduces other names for these pentalobate leaves: Araliopsis SAPORTA et MARION and Araliopsoides BERRY. The genus Araliopsis SAPORTA et MARION is based on Sassasafras cretaceum NEWBERRY in DANA, 1863, from the Cretaceous of Nebraska, USA ( Lesquereux 1874) (It is homonymous with Araliopsis BERRY, 1911 ). It differs from Araliaephyllum in having leaves showing percurrent (platanoid) secondaries.

Araliopsoides BERRY is based on A. breviloba BERRY from the Raritan Formation, Late Cretaceous of Maryland, USA ( Berry 1916). It differs from Araliaephyllum in having percurrent (platanoid) secondaries.

Araliphyllum NATHORST is based on type A. raumannii NATHORST from the Miocene of Japan ( Nathorst 1888). It is a simple widely elliptic leaf without any lobes.

Genera Debeya MIQUEL and Dewalquea SAPORTA et MARION ( Halamski 2013) differ from Araliaephyllum in having palmately compound leaves with leaflets showing petiolules.