Fossil wood from alluvial deposits (reworked Oligocene) of Limagne at Bussières (Puy-de-Dôme, France)

Silicified pieces of wood, collected at Bussières (Puy-de-Dôme, France) in alluvial deposits (reworked Oligocene) are described and named Casearioxylon pelletieri n. sp., Ulmoxylon lapidariorum (Unger) Felix (Felix, J., 1883. Untersuchungen über fossile Hölzer. Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft 35: 59–91), and Eucaryoxylon guembelii (Felix) Müller-Stoll and Mädel-Angeliewa (Müller-Stoll, W.R., Mädel-Angeliewa, E., 1983. Fossile Hölzer mit schmalen apotrachealen Parenchymbändern. I. Arten aus der Gattung Eucaryoxylon Müller-Stoll et Mädel. Feddes Repertorium 94 (9–10): 655–667), respectively related to Flacourtiaceae, Ulmus (Ulmaceae) and Carya (Juglandaceae). A new diagnostic character is proposed for the identification of Carya wood: a reinforced thickness of the intervascular walls linked to the presence of grouped pores. This work adds some new taxa to the Oligocene floristic composition of the Limagne, confirms the existence of fossil Flacourtiaceae in the Massif Central and documents the presence of Carya as early as the Oligocene. A comparison with the nearest fossil wood localities leads to consider Bussières as the richest one with a floristic composition evoking diversified climatic affinities.