Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 56. (Budapest 1964)

Rásky, K.: Studies of Tertiary plant remains from Hungary

fossil impression merely by morphology, incognizant of their anatomical structure. The Calamus palms now live on the southern inclines of the Himalaya, in Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Siam, South China, and Malaya. About 200 tropic-subtropic species are known (Furtado). Some species frequent wet localities or the vicinity of the sea, others ascend the mountains, yet not too high. Aside of some scandent species, a number of Calamus species live together with other palms in the lower regions of greater forests. They are frequent in monsoon territories. Araceophyllum tarnocense sp. n. (Plate VIII, Figs. 2, 5, Plate IX, Figs. 1—4) Diagnosis : The size and shape of the leaves are varying. No whole leaf remain was found. The leaf base is either missing (?attenuate) or, probably, inequilateral: one side of them rounded, the other narrowly decurrent (?or involute), or also cordate. No apex found. The margins are entire, but there could have been also incised leaves. The measurable length of the best, smooth leaf fragment is 11,0 cm, width of the half lamina 6.5—7 cm. The actual size of the leaves might also have been much greater. The midrib is very thick, 3—4 mm, prominent on the lower surface, flat or channelled on the upper one. It is wider basally, and tapering toward the apex. The primary and secondary lateral veins subtend 45° with the emitting midrib. The secondaries are slightly procurving upward and parallel. If the base of the leaf is asymmetric, then the secondaries follow the direction of the margin at the base, they are slightly arcuate, or, on the other side, decurrent straighter apicad. The primary lateral veins are prominent, spaced about 1 cm from one another. Among the primary laterals, there are 6—8 thinner, parallel secondary laterals. The distance between the interstitial veins is 1—1.5, or 2 mm. The secondary laterals sometimes also fork near the wide midrib. The secondary laterals are connected with small tertiaries, occasionally forming a network on the margin. Remarks: A number of leaf fragments were found in Ipolytarnóc, some with their counterparts. A part of the leaves is strongly wrinkled, and on these the primary secondaries are quite prominent (Plate IX, Fig. 1); some others are finely smoothed (Plate VIII, Fig. 2), but these, too, display the primary secondaries. (The base of this specimen is broken and not rounded). Plate VIII, Fig. 5 shows a deeper incised leaf-portion, with well discernible marginal veins on both sides, showing that it was not torn due to fossilization. Another specimen (Coll. nr. 63. 859 1.) also shows a deep incision, but, in the absence of marginal veins, it should be regarded as the consequence of fossilization. These leaf remains had been collected in the site of a single excavation at Ipolytarnóc. A part of the remains was decidedly small-bladed leaves,while other specimens might have attained a length of 40 - 50 cm, or, at their complete development, even longer. These remains might belong to differently developed leaves of a single species, or represent also a number of genera. Without information on the epidermal structure, they cannot be separated morphologically. There is a richness as to form also in the leaves of recent Araceae, according to their diverse habits (epiphytes, inhabitants of humid coasts, etc.). The fossil leaves are hereby relegated to the genus Araceophyllum (KRXUSEL, 1929, emend. WEYLAND, 1957), since the impressions of the excavated spadix remains referred most to the family Araceae. TUZSON (1913, p. 225, Taf. 19, Fig. 1) established the genus Schafarzikia on the basis of the leaf fragment found in theUpper Oligocène layer of the Zsil valley in Roumania, the better to express the dissimilarity of the leaf from the remains allocated to the genus Musophyllum. The leaf of Schafarzikia oligocaenica cannot be identified with the Ipolytarnóc remains. Fossils of a type similar to the Ipolytarnóc leaves are known under the names Musophyllum bohemicum UNG. (1860, p. 8, Taf. 1, Fig. 13), Musophyllum bilinicum ETTH. (1866, p. 28, Taf. 6, Fig. 11, and Taf. 7, Figs. 4-5), Musophyllum speciosum SAPORTA (1862, Tom. 17, p. 230, Pt. 5, Fig. 2, and 1888, Tom. 7, Pt. 10, Figs. 1-2), all from the Tertiary. The leaf of Musophyllum complicatum LESQ. (1878, p. 96, Pt. 15, Figs. 1-6) also shows some resemblance. The leaf of Geonoma steigeri, described