Fossil Neviusia leaves (Rosaceae: Kerrieae) from the lower-middle eocene of southern British Columbia

Fossil leaves assigned to the disjunct rosaceous genus Neviusia A. Gray, N. dunthornei DeVore, Moore, Pigg & Wehr sp. nov. (Rosaceae, tribe Kerrieae) are described from the lower-middle Eocene One Mile Creek locality near the town of Princeton, southern British Columbia, Canada. The leaves are elliptic to broadly ovate, seven-lobed, up to 4.9 cm long X 5.6 cm wide with craspedodromous venation and two to three sizes of marginal teeth. They bear a striking resemblance to N. cliftonii Shevock, Ertter & Taylor, the recently discovered species of the Mount Shasta area of northern California, and differ markedly from the type species N. alabamensis A. Gray of southeastern North America. The occurrence in the Okanogan Highlands of N. dunthornei marks the first fossil evidence for the small, rosaceous tribe Kerrieae, and further documents the lower-middle Eocene as a time of major radiation of many temperate families, including the Rosaceae.