ABSTRACT:

First fossil fruits of Pistia (Araceae, Aroideae) are reported from the Early Miocene lignite in North Bohemia. They co-occur with dispersed seeds identified as Pistia sibirica Dorofeev, a morpho-species spread in the Late Oligocene and Early to Middle Miocene deposits of western Eurasia. These fruits remain different only in smaller size from those produced by Pistia stratiotes L., a pantropic floating aquatic aroid and the only extant species of the genus.