Abstract
Four-winged propeller-like fruits formerly attributed to Abelia (Caprifoliaceae) from the Late Eocene Bembridge flora of England, the Late Eocene Kučlin flora of Czech Republic and the Early Oligocene Óbuda and Eger-Kiseged floras of Hungary have been reinvestigated based on about 50 specimens. Specimens with intact pedicels show that the calyx is hypogynous rather than epigynous as previously interpreted. Because they possess a superior ovary, they cannot belong to Abelia or to the Caprifoliaceae. The fossil was compared with other extant and fossil genera with similar four-winged fruits, but its systematic affinities remain uncertain. We assign the fruits to a new genus, Raskya, as Raskya vetusta (Ettingshausen) Manchester et Hably, comb. nov. Although its familial affinities remain uncertain, Raskya is significant biogeographically and biostratigraphically because of its occurrence both in Hungary and England in marginal marine strata of the Upper Eocene to Lower Oligocene. Other species of fossil fruits formerly attributed to Abelia are also rejected, and the fossil record of this genus remains to be convincingly documented.
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