The Late Early Pleistocene Flora Of Oriolo, Faenza (Italy): Assembly Of The Modern Forest Biome Author Denk, Thomas Author Sami, Marco Author Teodoridis, Vasilis Author Martinetto, Edoardo text Fossil Imprint 2022 2022-08-26 78 1 217 262 http://dx.doi.org/10.37520/fi.2022.009 journal article 10.37520/fi.2022.009 2533-4069 7167867 Pyracantha aff. coccinea M.ROEM., 1847 Text-fig. 5e, g, h 2009 Pyracantha coccinea M.ROEM. ; Martinetto, p. 27, fig. 3 (6). M a t e r i a l. Oriolo MSF 627-1, 684-1. D e s c r i p t i o n. Leaf, simple, petiolate, lamina elliptic, 30–48 mm long, 20–21 mm wide, base acute, apex bluntly acuminate, secondary venation mixed, tertiary veins running perpendicular or oblique to secondary veins, margin dentate, teeth appressed, with long basal and short apical side, tooth type rosoid. R e m a r k s. The morphological variation of the fossil leaves (narrow and wide elliptic, mixed secondary venation, margin) matches the one found in the modern species P . coccinea ( Text-fig. 5f, i ). The modern species is native to southeastern Europe and western Asia and is ecologically very flexible. It can be an element of dry forests with Zelkova , Carpinus orientalis , or of woody associations on fixed sand dunes with Malus , Hippophae , Berberis , Mespilus , and Paliurus in western Georgia ( Denk et al. 2001 ). In Italy , fossil leaves and fruits of P . coccinea were reported from the early Middle Pleistocene of Pianico-Sellere ( Martinetto 2009 ).