Protomonimia kasai-nakajhongii gen. et sp. nov.: A permineralized magnolialean fructification from the mid-Cretaceous of japan

Protomonimia kasai-nakajhongii gen. et sp. nov., is an angiosperm fructification with numerous helically arranged follicles attached to a concave receptacle. It was obtained from the mid-Cretaceous (Turonian) of Hokkaido, Japan. Each follicle is a conduplicate carpel with an adaxial stigmatic crest. It shows many primitive features of early angiosperms, especially of the Magnoliales.Protomonimia is thought to represent a member of a mid-Cretaceous group of magnolioid ancestors from which a major part of Recent Magnoliales may have been derived. Contributions from the Laboratory of Phylogenetic Botany, Chiba University, no. 118.