Fossil Pinus from the Cenozoic of Thailand

Pinus macrofossils were recovered from three Cenozoic basins in Thailand, a genus previously known in Thailand almost exclusively from pollen. Nong Ya Plong Basin, Phetchaburi Province, Central Thailand yielded shoots with 5-needled fascicles, proposed as a new species, Pinus nongyaplongensis Grote in the subgenus Strobus. Two seed cones were found in the same basin, each of uncertain affinity within the genus, other than not being in subsection Strobus, subgenus Strobus, so not conspecific with P. nongyaplongensis. One shoot of Pinus cf. krempfii was discovered in Mae Lamao Basin, Tak Province, Northern Thailand, and a seed wing was recovered from Li Basin, Lamphun Province, Northern Thailand. These fossils provide information about the diversity and biogeography of Pinus in Southeast Asia and along with the pollen record of Pinaceae provide evidence of the past environment. Currently, only two species of Pinus occur in Thailand, both in the subgenus Pinus.