European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference 2026

Plant macrofossil-preservation potential (PMPP) is restricted to a limited number of depositional environments (EOD). In turn, the record’s quantity and quality are dictated by biological and geochemical factors operating therein. Outcrops present a continental stratigraphy of stacked, laterally contiguous landscapes. Each overlying landscape has similar, but spatially offset, EODs. Their...

Lichens are generally very rare in the fossil record. Baltic and Bitterfeld ambers are notable exceptions, with hundreds of specimens discovered to date. The fact that the tree resin preserved lichens and associated organisms lifelike in their microhabitats provides reliable insights into structure and composition of Paleogene lichen communities and their interactions with other organisms. The...

Late Eocene Baltic amber represents the largest amber deposit worldwide. It has been studied for centuries, but plant inclusions are comparatively scarce and the angiosperm diversity of the Baltic amber source area is still insufficiently understood for a holistic reconstruction of the amber forest. Here we describe three well-preserved flowers analyzed with high-resolution X-ray tomography...

Worldwide, oceanic islands are known to harbour unique floras and vegetation types. Within Macaronesian archipelagos, one of the most emblematic ecosystems are the evergreen broad-leaved Laurel forests. These were, since the mid-19th century, based on an extensive continental fossil record, considered an impoverished relict of extinct taxa that once occurred during the Cenozoic of Europe. This...

A major global cooling during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, ~ 14–13 million years ago (Ma) marked the beginning of a shift between Earth’s coolhouse and icehouse states. During this time, much of Central and Southern Europe was covered by a northward extension of the Mediterranean Sea, the Central Paratethys. Remarkably, the Middle Miocene (~ 12.7–12.1 Ma) Lagerstätte of Radoboj from...

Leaf epicuticular waxes form the outermost protective layer of leaves and reflect adaptations to environmental conditions. Their morphology and chemistry is usually not well preserved in the fossil record but can be under specific circumstances, providing information for paleoclimate reconstruction and taphonomic histories of leaves in lignites. Whitish fossil layers on Eocene leaves have been...