A new species of Meliolinites (fossil Meliolaceae), M. buxi sp. nov., is reported from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China. The fungus has hyphopodia characteristics of extant Meliolaceae, such as thick-walled, branching hyphae with appressoria and phialides. However, these fossils entirely lack mycelial or perithecial setae and have only a few phialides, thereby distinguishing the new species from most known species. The fungus was discovered on the adaxial and abaxial cuticles of several fossilized Buxus leaves. Thickening and twisting of cell walls in the Buxus leaf cuticle, along with the parasitic feeding strategy of the extant Meliolaceae, suggest that a parasitic interaction between Buxus and M. buxi seems feasible. The distribution of modern Meliolaceae suggests that they live in warm, humid subtropical-tropical climates. It is possible that the presence of M. buxi indicates a similar climatic condition. The co-occurrence of large-leaf Buxus and floristic comparisons of the Ningming assemblage also corroborate this conclusion.

The fossil record of Lauraceae can be traced back to the Early Cretaceous of eastern Asia based on fossil flowers. Here, we refer a number of new occurrences of leaf and fruit fossils of Lauraceae from the Middle Miocene of Zhangpu, Fujian, China, to seven species. These data provide evidence supporting the fact that a diverse subtropical, or tropical, Lauraceae-dominated evergreen forest surrounded this region 15 million years ago (Mya). The Lauraceae fossils presented in this paper provide evidence for the evolution of this group as well as new materials that enable the study of the Fujian Province Neogene flora. The fossils described in this paper fill in the gaps in studies about Lauraceae pollen in the Middle Miocene from Fotan, Fujian, China. In addition, these fossils also enrich the Middle Miocene fossil records of Lauraceae in eastern Asia, especially improving the study of the macrostructures and reproductive organs of fossil Lauraceae from southern China. The similarity between fossil and modern fruits shows that during the Middle Miocene the fruit morphological of Lauraceae have changed very little. We also identify families where the fossils we report belong to their closest relatives and can be used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of Fujian in the Middle Miocene.