First Fossil Winged Fruits of Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch. (Ulmaceae) From the Pliocene of India

Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch. (Ulmaceae), also known as the Indian elm, is currently a well‐known, fast‐growing, economically and ecologically important evergreen tree in the tropical forests of India. Here, we report, for the first time, fossil winged fruits assigned to Holoptelea Planch. from the Pliocene, Rajdanda Formation of the Chotanagpur Plateau, Jharkhand, eastern India, within its current distribution range. Detailed morphological comparison shows a close affinity with extant H. integrifolia in overall shape, wing structure, seed position, and venation. The minor variations observed fall within the range of intraspecific variability; hence, no new species is proposed, and the fossils are assigned to H. integrifolia . This finding not only significantly extends the fossil record of Holoptelea in India but also provides crucial insights into its historical biogeography and ecological persistence since the Pliocene.