Fossil <i>Newtonia</i> (Fabaceae: Mimoseae) Seeds from the Early Miocene (22–21 Ma) Mush Valley in Ethiopia

Abstract

Numerous fossil winged seeds from the early Miocene (22–21 Ma) of Ethiopia represent the earliest and only definitive record of the ecologically and economically important legume genus Newtonia (Fabaceae: “Mimoseae”). These fossils represent a new species and provide evidence that tropical moist forest persisted on the Ethiopian Plateau into the early Miocene.