The conifer Glenrosa falcata sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain and its palaeoecology

Based on short shoots and isolated leaves collected from the upper Barremian coaly clays of the La Huérguina Formation (Uña-Las Hoyas basin, Iberian Ranges, Spain) a new species of the fossil conifer genus Glenrosa Watson et Fisher emend. Srinivasan is here described for the first time in Europe. Glenrosa falcata sp. nov. displays the characteristic stomatal crypts and papillae projecting into the crypt neck, however it is differentiated from other Glenrosa species by its falcate leaf morphology with a long free part (over 50% of the leaf length), an acute and recurved leaf tip and robust epidermal cell papillae. Based on comparisons with living angiosperms possessing stomatal crypts (Nerium Linnaeus (Apocynaceae) and Blossfeldia Werdermann (Cactaceae)) and an assessment of the palaeoenvironment we conclude that G. falcata was a xerophytic shrub, that grew on well drained substrates in a seasonally dry and warm climate and formed a minor part of a vegetation dominated by the Cheirolepid Frenelopsis (Schenk) emend. Watson. This habitat was alkaline and oligohaline and therefore expands the previously reported environmental tolerances of Glenrosa.