Caryanthus FRIIS , 1983

Heřmanová, Zuzana & Kvaček, Jiří, 2012, A New Record Of The Genus Caryanthus From The Cretaceous Of South Bohemia (Czech Republic), Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae Series B 68 (1 - 2), pp. 47-50 : 49

Genus Caryanthus FRIIS, 1983

Flowers / fruits of Caryanthus are small, apparently sessile, about 1 mm long, bisymmetrical and epigynous, supported by a small bract and two lateral prophylls. The perianth consists of four tepals arranged in two decussate pairs. The androecium consists of six to eight stamens. The gynoecium is bicarpellate with a unilocular ovary and two free styles. Pollen is triaperturate and triangular in equatorial outline. A distinct Y–shaped mark extends between the apertures over the pole. The fruits are small, ribbed nuts with a single erect and apparently orthotropous seed as described by Friis (2006).

The inflorescence / infructescence from Zliv – Řídká Blana described here shows the above mentioned characters – juvenile fruits with tepals united basally forming a hypanthium, basal parts of filaments arranged in two rows and fragmentarily preserved styles. Pollen in situ was not found in stamens, but Caryanthus pollen has been described from the flora of Åsen, southern Sweden ( Friis 1983).