摘要
A fossil leaf of Machilus leptophylla and a fossil leaf of Machilus cf. longipedicellata were collected from the Pliocene Mangbang Formation in Tengchong, Yunnan Province. Their architectural and epidermal characteristics were investigated by laboratory observation and cuticular analysis, and were compared with their living relative species. The results show that both leaf architectural and epidermal characteristics of the fossils are very similar to the living features and thus the combined usage of leaf architecture and cuticle in fossil classification and identification can yield more reliable results than solely used.