FIRST DATA ABOUT ARALIACEAE MACROREMAINS IN SLOVAKIA

A discrepancy is found between the leaf morphology of fossil material and its species identification, which has been defined so far as Acer sanctae-crucis. The material originates from the Sarmatian flora of Moeiar locality (central part of Slovakia). According to all morphological features that can be identified on the incomplete leaf imprint, we came to the conclusion that the fossil material belongs to the family Araliaceae. The highest similarity is found with the recent species Fatsia japonica, which is distributed in the southern parts of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. This is the first registered macrofossil of the family Araliaceae in the Neogene flora of Slovakia. The presence of a species which has F. japonica as nearest living relative in the Sarmatian flora of Slovakia, provides additional information on the climatic parameters in which it developed. The area in which the recent species is distributed is characterized by temperate climate, hot summer and no dry season.