New data on the genus Cornus L. (Cornaceae) in the Bulgarian Miocene flora

Abstract

New data on the distribution of species of the genus Cornus on the territory of Bulgaria during the Miocene are presented. The species C. megaphylla was found for the first time in the middle Miocene flora from Satovcha (SW Bulgaria). So far, this species has been established in the middle Miocene flora from Ruzhintsi (NW Bulgaria). A revision of the species C. distans from the Satovcha paleoflora as Cornus aff. alba has also been made. A new finding of a leaf imprint from the Satovcha local paleoflora proves that the fossil material has the closest morphological features to the recent species C. alba.