| Fossil leaves from the upper Miocene Mehrten Formation locality several miles east of Grass Valley/Nevada City (they are contiguous communities), Northern Mother Lode country, California. All three leaves belong to Quercus remingtoni, a species that paleobotanists consider the Miocene analog to the living Quercus morehus, which in actual fact is a naturally occurring hybrid between a deciduous oak (Quercus kelloggii--the California black oak) and an evegreen live oak (Quercus wislizeni--the interior live oak). Photograph courtesy a specific technical document. |