A palynological study of 239 outcrop samples and their sedimentological context was undertaken on the Pliocene Productive Series in the Kirmaky and Yasamal valleys, eastern Azerbaijan. The Productive Series is primarily a representation of the palaeo-Volga and forms the main hydrocarbon-producing reservoirs in the South Caspian Basin. Most sands are interpreted as fluvial, based on sedimentary characteristics. Mudstone and siltstones often contain freshwater and brackish assemblages interpreted as ‘Caspian lake’ transgressions, indicative of rapid Caspian Sea level change during the Pliocene. Most samples contain rich assemblages including pollen, spores, dinoflagellate cysts, algae and fungal bodies. Common tree pollen elements include Pinus, Alnus, Betula, Carya, Juglans, Pterocarya, Quercus and Ulmus, which all occur in present-day vegetation or pollen records from the Caucasus or Urals. Herbaceous pollen includes Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae (including Artemisia), Ephedra and Poaceae, commonly found in the drier Caspian regions. The dinoflagellate cysts include ‘Peri-paratethyan endemic’ taxa such as Caspidinium rugosum and Spiniferites cruciformis. ‘Pannonian’ species such as Thalassiphora balcanica, Romanodinium areolatum and Spiniferites oblongus confirm the persistence of these taxa into the early Pliocene in Eastern Paratethys, around five million years later than their first documented presence in Central Paratethys. ‘Caspian lake’ influences diminish up-section, as indicated by a progression from brackish to freshwater and sub-aerial conditions. Productive Series deposition was mainly driven by the combined effects of lake level and catchment climate. The principal hydrocarbon reservoir sands were deposited as a result of increased catchment humidity, whereas drying conditions led to reduced coarse clastic input and deposition of alluvial plain mudstones. Productive Series deposition terminated with the onset of the marine-influenced Akchagyl Series, which spans the Plio-Pleistocene boundary. The lowermost sediments of the Akchagyl Series are freshwater in origin and grade up-section into marine beds containing dinoflagellate cysts of Arctic affinity.

The pollen morphology of 89 taxa belonging to the genus Dianthus L. is considered, utilizing light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and the taxa are compared based on their pollen characters. Of these, the pollen morphology of 73 taxa is reported for the first time. Pollen grains of Dianthus taxa are spheroidal, polypantoporate and 29.1–53 µm in size, and have 12–24 prominent or sunken apertures uniformly distributed on their surface. Spinules were present on all pollen grains, and puncta were seen in 73 taxa. The exine surface ornamentation can be divided into three types, namely microechinate, microechinate-punctate or microechinate-punctate-foveolate. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis demonstrate that the clustering of Dianthus taxa studied does not correlate well with the sectional classification; rather, the punctum number, the pollen diameter and the spinule number are the most valuable variables for separating the examined taxa.

Studies have shown that Acacia Mill. sensu lato consists of seven genera (Acacia sensu stricto, Acaciella Britton & Rose, Mariosousa Seigler & Ebinger, Senegalia Raf., and Vachellia Wight & Arnott) but does not constitute a monophyletic group. The Senegalia sensu lato clade, which corresponds to the genera Acaciella, Mariosousa, and Senegalia sensu stricto, likewise does not constitute a monophyletic group. The pollen morphology of a total of 22 species of Senegalia that occur in Brazil, and that of representatives of the genera Acaciella, Parasenegalia, Mariosousa, and Vachellia, is analyzed here. Pollen material was obtained from exsiccata deposited at some herbaria of Brazil. The pollen was acetolyzed and analyzed using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The dispersal units (polyads) were generally medium to large sized. All of the Senegalia species studied had apolar pollen grains organized in polyads comprising 16 pollen grains. The number of pollen grains in polyads is a synapomorphic character for recognizing those genera. Acaciella polyads have eight pollen grains; Parasenegalia and Mariosousa polyads have 16 pollen grains, and Vachellia polyads have more than 32 pollen grains that are irregularly arranged. The sexine and nexine had identical thickness in most of the species analyzed. Exine ornamentation varied from rugulate to rugulate-perforated to psilate-perforated.

In this study we report the palynological properties of the genus Reseda, which is represented by 18 native taxa in Turkey. In general terms, pollen grains are monad, isopolar, radially symmetrical, oblate-spheroidal to subprolate in equatorial view, circular in polar view, small or medium sized and tricolporate. Pollen grains of R. malatyana are oblate-spheroidal; those of R. alba, R. coodei, R. balansae, R. orientalis, R. anatolica, R. lutea, R. globulosa, R. tomentosa var. tomentosa, R. tomentosa var. glabrata, R. germanicopolitana var. germanicopolitana, R. aucheri subsp. rotundifolia and R. luteola are prolate-spheroidal. Pollen grains of R. armena var. scabridula, R. minoica, R. germanicopolitana var. glabra and R. saadae are subprolate. All pollen grains of the examined Reseda taxa except R. orientalis are small in size. The mean polar axis length is 15.92–29.12 µm, the mean equatorial axis length is 14.20–26.88 µm and the mean amb diameter is 13.30–25.54 µm. The aperture bears a colpus at the top and a pore underneath the colpus. Its membrane is granulate under light microscopy. The margin of the colpus is distinct, whereas that of the pore is indistinct. The exine structure is semitectate, and the sculpture is microreticulate. In terms of details of exine sculpturing, two pollen types are observed: Reseda alba type and Reseda luteola type, or (in other words) reticulate type and rugulate type. It was not possible to separate sections or species of the examined Reseda taxa based on pollen data. The morphological and palynological data should be evaluated together to understand the classification of the genus Reseda in Turkey.

A palynological investigation was carried out on samples obtained from the Givetian/Frasnian interval in the formation comprising stromatoporoid-coral dolomites and limestones from the Kowala 1 borehole (south-central Poland). These carbonate bank to reef deposits have not previously been subjected to palynological studies. The analysed samples revealed the presence of organic tentaculitoids, which are particularly uncommon. According to their morphological features all observed forms were classified into the subclass Dacryoconarida, of which only representatives from the order Nowakiida were recognised. An organic tentaculite with an associated partially preserved mineral shell was found for the first time. Palynological investigation allowed the palynostratigraphy of this interval to be established as Cristatisporites optivus–Spelaeotriletes krestovnikovii, from the East European Miospore zonation (late varcus up to transitans conodont zones).

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs were analysed from 35 modern moss cushions collected along an altitudinal gradient (2225–2552 m a.s.l.) from the Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir State (Western Himalaya), India. The selected sampling altitude is at the elevation of appearance of blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) and West Himalayan spruce or morinda spruce (Picea smithiana). We used cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) to reveal trends and characteristics in the modern pollen and non-pollen palynomorph composition within this zone. Tree taxa mainly correlated positively with the altitudinal gradient, i.e. tree pollen is more abundant at higher altitudes. The presence of West Himalayan spruce pollen increased significantly above 2490 m a.s.l., which coincides with its increased abundance in the area. Poaceae, Cerealia, Ranunculaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Asteroideae and Cichorioideae, indicating open land and human agricultural activities, are more characteristic of higher locations. Greater relative abundance of dung spores was characteristic of lower elevations, indicating human-related grazing activities. While tropical deciduous plants grow only at lower elevations away from the study area, their pollen was present at higher altitudes, suggesting long-distance pollen dispersal, beyond the growing localities.

Since the publication of six literature compilations issued between 2012 and 2020, 38 further published contributions on Triassic, Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) dinoflagellate cysts were issued, or have been discovered, during the past 12 months (i.e. between April 2020 and March 2021). Considerable research has been published on the Triassic and Early Jurassic marine palynology of subArctic West Europe and West Russia. All the 38 items are listed herein with doi numbers where applicable, and a description of each item as a string of keywords.

The Trwyn y Parc solution pipes on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, UK are one of only three onshore Miocene fossil flora bearing sites. Here, we revise the palynostratigraphy and present new palaeoclimate data for this geoheritage site. By comparison to palynological data from northern Europe the age has been refined from Miocene to Middle Miocene, possibly Langhian. This is confirmed by palaeoclimate reconstructions comparable to the German Middle Miocene, especially the Langhian after the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). This new information not only confirms the regional importance of Trwyn y Parc, but shows it to be of national importance. Our findings show that this Regionally Important Geodiversity Site (RIGs) is of national importance as it is the oldest onshore fossiliferous Neogene deposit in the UK. Based on this, and the unique fossil flora preserved at Trwyn y Parc, the site has significant geoheritage value and should be upgraded to Geological Conservation Review (GCR) status and subsequently protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Investigation of large populations of peteinoid acritarchs recovered from Middle Ordovician strata of the Hälludden and Horns Udde quarry sections (Öland, Sweden) allows for statistical analyses based on morphometric measurements. The results indicate the presence of assemblages with a continuous variability of morphotypes, thus a distinction of different peteinoid acritarch taxa in the sections proved to be impossible. This challenges the currently accepted classification based on a differentiation into the three genera Peteinosphaeridium, Cycloposphaeridium and Liliosphaeridium, and a multitude of different species; individual taxa are essentially arbitrary as morphotypes intergrade. Investigations on modern dinoflagellates show that these can develop variable cyst morphologies depending on environmental factors. By analogy, it can be hypothesised that the different morphologies observed among the peteinoid acritarchs from Öland are cysts produced by only very few phytoplanktic organisms (or even a single species) with high morphological variability.

Effective communication of taxonomic concepts is crucial to meaningful application in all biological sciences, and thus the development and following of best practices in taxonomy and the formulation of clear and practical rules of nomenclature underpin a wide range of scientific studies. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (the Code), currently the Shenzhen Code of 2018, provides these rules. Although early versions of the Code were designed mainly with extant plants in mind, the Code has been increasingly used for fossil plants and, in recent decades, for organic-walled microfossils, the study of which is called palaeopalynology, or simply palynology. However, rules embodied in the Code do not fully reflect the needs and practices of this discipline; and taxonomic practices between fossil applications, especially in palynology, have tended to diverge from practices for extant plants. Differences in these rules and practices present specific challenges. We therefore review the Shenzhen Code as it applies to palynology, clarifying procedures and recommending approaches based on best practices, for example, in the designation and use of nomenclatural types. The application of nomenclatural types leads to taxonomic stability and precise communication, and lost or degraded types are therefore problematic because they remove the basis for understanding a taxon. Such problems are addressed using examples from the older European literature in which type specimens are missing or degraded. A review of the three most important conventions for presenting palynological taxonomic information, synonymies, diagnoses/descriptions and illustrations, concludes with recommendations of best practices. Palynology continues to play an important role in biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental analyses, and evolutionary studies, and is contributing increasingly to our understanding of past climates and ocean systems. To contribute with full potential to such applied studies, consistent communication of taxonomic concepts, founded upon clear rules of nomenclature, is essential.

The published latest Palaeocene to Early–Middle Eocene age limits of the Sabrina microfloras, offshore Aurora Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica, largely depend on 1970s age-range data for fossil pollen and spore species in the continental margin basins of southern Australia. This paper uses updated biostratigraphical data from southern Australia, including the basins closest to the Aurora Basin throughout the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene, to propose that the age of the terrestrial component of the Sabrina microfloras is Campanian to Maastrichtian, not Paleogene. However, the revised age limits do not preclude these microfloras being redeposited more or less intact during the development and expansion of ice-sheets on East Antarctica, i.e. most probably during the late Paleogene based on other evidence from East Antarctica.