Clematis aff. vitalba L

Denk, Thomas, Sami, Marco, Teodoridis, Vasilis & Martinetto, Edoardo, 2022, The Late Early Pleistocene Flora Of Oriolo, Faenza (Italy): Assembly Of The Modern Forest Biome, Fossil Imprint 78 (1), pp. 217-262 : 225

Clematis aff. vitalba L ., 1753

Text-fig. 3j

M a t e r i a l. Oriolo MSF 630-1, 710-1.

D e s c r i p t i o n. Leaflet, lamina ovate, cordate, 43 to> 50 mm long, 30–46 mm wide, primary venation acrodromous, one midvein, two lateral veins, secondary venation brochidodromous.

R e m a r k s. The leaflet is very similar to the extant liana C. vitalba (cf. modern specimen E00440433, herbarium E). In contrast, similarities with Smilax are weak. The key candidate among modern Smilax spp. to compare against our fossil would be Smilax excelsa L. (modern relict distribution in the Euxinian-Hyrcanian forest region). However, this species differs in the number of primary veins (usually 2–3 pairs of lateral primary veins), and in the secondary venation. In Smilax , brochidodromous loops of secondary veins typically join to form an additional lateral primary vein (see for example specimen E00325946, herbarium E).

Figures

Text-fig. 3. a–e: Berberis auriolensis sp. nov. a: Oriolo MSF 644, Holotype. b: Oriolo MSF 794, asterisks indicate position of teeth. c: Oriolo MSF 784. d: Oriolo MSF 789. e: Oriolo MSF 790. f–h: Modern leaves of Berberis. f: Berberis amurensis var. japonica modern leaf (NMNS Cleared Leaf Database specimen T 0454). g: Berberis koreana modern leaf (NMNS Cleared Leaf Database specimen T 1646). h: Berberis canadensis modern leaf (NMNS Cleared Leaf Database specimen T 1670). i: Epimedium cf. praeaspera Oriolo MSF 778, asterisk indicates position of tooth. j: Clematis aff. vitalba Oriolo MSF 630. Scale bars 10 mm (a–j).