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A new Quercus (Fagaceae) morphospecies is described based on well‐preserved fossil leaves. The fossils were collected from Yangyi Formation of the Upper Pliocene at the Yangyi coalmine, Baoshan, western Yunnan, China. Details of the microstructure of mesophyll tissue are preserved because lithification of the fossils was not complete. The fossil laminas possess typical characteristics of Quercus sect Heterobalanus: quite thick and coriaceous cuticle; secondary veins bifurcating near the margin in the middle and top of the leaf; and upper epidermis with adaxial hypodermis. Based on a detailed morphological and anatomical comparison with all living and fossil species of Quercus sect. Heterobalanus, the fossil leaves prove to be different in their sparse and garland‐shaped multicellular trichomes on the lower epidermis, and so it is described as a new species Quercus yangyiensis He, Li et Sun sp. nov. The much sparser trichomes of our fossils compare well with those of living Quercus sect. Heterobalanus and indicate a more humid climate during the deposition of the Yangyi Formation in the Late Pliocene.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution in rice and its transfer to food chain are cause of global concern. Application of zinc (Zn) can reduce Cd uptake by plants, as both these metals are generally antagonistic in soil-plant systems. In a field experiment on Cd-contaminated acid soil, we investigated the effectiveness of foliar application of Zn in minimizing Cd accumulation and its effect on the content of mineral nutrient elements in rice. The treatment was done at an early grain filling stag using 0.3 and 0.5% w/v ZnSO·7HO solution. The spray did not affect the grain yield of rice but decreased the Cd concentration in the root, straw, husk, and brown rice to some extent and increased the Zn concentration. Foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO resulted in maximum Zn concentration and minimum Cd concentration in brown rice. However, the concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, and Mn in brown rice were not affected. The correlation between Cd and Zn concentrations in brown rice, husk, and root was significantly negative, and that between Cd and Mn concentrations in brown rice was significantly positive. The inhibition of Cd uptake resulted in a decrease in its concentration in brown rice after the treatments. Thus, the foliar application of a suitable concentration of Zn at the early grain filling stage could effectively minimize the Cd concentration while enhancing the Zn concentration in brown rice on Cd-contaminated acid soil.

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