Evergreen forests

Fagus castaneifolia

Around 50 million years ago, beech trees grew in areas that are now located in the Arctic region, and they remained there until about eight million years ago.

Traces of them have been found in many different regions which also include Central Asia and the Mediterranean, indicating that beech trees were much more widely distributed during most of the Palaeogene and Neogene periods than they are today.

Modern beech trees grow primarily in eastern North America, western Eurasia, China and Japan. Fagus castaneifolia is related to modern beech species that grow in eastern Asia and North America.

Deinotherium giganteum

This molar tooth is from an extinct elephant species called Deinotheriumgiganteum. It differs from the cheek tooth of a present-day elephant in that it is used to cut through plants; the molars of today’s elephants are used to grind plant matter. The tusks were also different. Those of today’s elephants are front teeth of the upper jaw, while those of Deinotherium grew from the lower jaw.  

Deinotherium giganteum was an extremely large elephant. It could grow up to four metres in height and lived around ten million years ago in Central Europe.

Persea braunii

Persea braunii was a relative of modern avocados which grew in what is now Europe during the Neogene Period.

Today, avocados grow wild in Mexico but are cultivated all over the world. There are about 150 species in the avocado genus. They belong to the laurel family, which is quite large; it includes some 3000 different tree and shrub species, most of which remain green year-round. They grow in warm, temperate, tropical and subtropical regions.

Daphnogene polymorpha

Daphnogene polymorpha belongs to the laurel family. The leaf veins form a fork-like pattern that is typical of several relatives in the laurel family, including Cinnamomum, the cinnamon genus. Scientists previously believed that these leaves belonged to a member of the cinnamon genus, but they are now classified as Daphnogene.

Daphnogene polymorpha

Daphnogene polymorpha belongs to the laurel family. The leaf veins form a fork-like pattern that is typical of several relatives in the laurel family, including Cinnamomum, the cinnamon genus. Scientists previously believed that these leaves belonged to a member of the cinnamon genus, but they are now classified as Daphnogene.

Daphnogene polymorpha

Daphnogene polymorpha belongs to the laurel family. The leaf veins form a fork-like pattern that is typical of several relatives in the laurel family, including Cinnamomum, the cinnamon genus. Scientists previously believed that these leaves belonged to a member of the cinnamon genus, but they are now classified as Daphnogene.

Podogonium podocarpum

The extinct plant Podogonium podocarpum belonged to the legume family. Most legume species have compound leaves and seeds encased in pods. Scientists have found fossils of leaves, pods, and pollen from Podogonium podocarpum.

Today, there are nearly 20,000 legume species, which comprise the second largest family of flowering plants. They grow all over the world in many different habitats, but are most common in tropical forests.

Podogonium podocarpum

The extinct plant Podogonium podocarpum belonged to the legume family. Most legume species have compound leaves and seeds encased in pods. Scientists have found fossils of leaves, pods, and pollen from Podogonium podocarpum.

Today, there are nearly 20,000 legume species, which comprise the second largest family of flowering plants. They grow all over the world in many different habitats, but are most common in tropical forests.

Lauraceae

Scientists are not always able to determine the genus of a leaf by studying fossils of it. These leaves belong to the laurel family. The locations of fossil sites indicate that, during the Palaeogene and Neogene periods, forests in western Eurasia resembled the laurel forests which now grow on the Canary Islands.

Most of today’s members of the laurel family grow in South America and Southeast Asia; included within this family are cinnamon species and avocados. True laurel — the source of bay leaves used in cooking —grow in the Mediterranean region.

Persea braunii

Persea braunii was a relative of modern avocados which grew in what is now Europe during the Neogene Period.

Today, avocados grow wild in Mexico but are cultivated all over the world. There are about 150 species in the avocado genus. They belong to the laurel family, which is quite large; it includes some 3000 different tree and shrub species, most of which remain green year-round. They grow in warm, temperate, tropical and subtropical regions.

Persea braunii

Persea braunii was a relative of modern avocados which grew in what is now Europe during the Neogene Period.

Today, avocados grow wild in Mexico but are cultivated all over the world. There are about 150 species in the avocado genus. They belong to the laurel family, which is quite large; it includes some 3000 different tree and shrub species, most of which remain green year-round. They grow in warm, temperate, tropical and subtropical regions.

Daphnogene polymorpha

Daphnogene polymorpha belongs to the laurel family. The leaf veins form a fork-like pattern that is typical of several relatives in the laurel family, including Cinnamomum, the cinnamon genus. Scientists previously believed that these leaves belonged to a member of the cinnamon genus, but they are now classified as Daphnogene.

Sapindus falcifolius

The extinct species, Sapindus falcifolius, belongs to the soapberry family, which also includes maples and the horse chestnut. Fossils of the soapberry family are common since the Paleogene Period.

For example, horse chestnut has been found in North America and on Spitsbergen. Today, maples grow in temperate regions, while members of the genus Sapindus grow in tropical and subtropical regions.

Anomala fugax

The beetle Anomala fugax is closely related to a currently existing species, the dor beetle.

Dor beetles are land-dwelling insects. This specimen has been preserved on a lake bottom, probably after drowning. 

 Alnus kefersteinii

Fossilized alder cones found in Europe which scientists have not been able to link with any specific type of leaf are often called Alnus kefersteinii. Alders belong to the birch family of plants, which also includes birch and hazel species.

Zelkova ungeri

Zelkovaungeri grew in large parts of what is now Eurasia during the Palaeogene and Neogene periods. It was common in European forests primarily during the Neogene.

The genus Zelkova did not disappear from an area near Rome, Italy, until about 31,000 years ago. It grows today in the Caucasus and in eastern Asia. But in Europe it is an endangered species that remains only in mountains on Crete and Sicily.

Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium

The extinct Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium belongs to the mallow family of plants. Scientists have come to that conclusion with the help of evidence which includes abundant fossils of seeds and leaves.

The mallow family also includes the linden tree, hibiscus, and the cocoa tree.

Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium

The extinct Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium belongs to the mallow family of plants. Scientists have come to that conclusion with the help of evidence which includes abundant fossils of seeds and leaves.

The mallow family also includes the linden tree, hibiscus, and the cocoa tree.