Putative proteaceous elements of the Lomatites-type reinterpreted as new Berberis of the European Tertiary

A characteristic xeromorphic foliage occurring in the European Tertiary was originally identified as a Proteaceae according to gross morphology, and c ompared with Grevillea L. and Lomatia L. (Grevillea kymeana Unger. Lomatite s aquensis Saporta). On the basis of venation patterns and phyllotaxy, thes e elements are now reinterpreted as extinct species of Berberis L. (Berberi daceae): Berberis andreanszkyi spec, nov. occurring in the Upper Oligocene (Eger - Wind brickyard)? and the Middle Miocene (Erdobenye) of Hungary, and Berberis kymeana (Unger) comb. nov. (syn. Lomatites aquensis Saporta) know n from the Lower Miocene of Greece (Kymi) and the Oligocene of France (Aix- en-Provence. Manosque/Bois d'Asson. Cerestre, Bonieux). The associated vege tation reflects warm-temperate to subtropical subhumid climatic conditions. Extant barberries with similar foliage occur in the Himalayas and China to day.