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F OR THE FIRST time, a palynological assemblage was recovered from the Safi Formation in the west Beni Suef Basin of the Western Desert in Egypt. A total of 65 miospore taxa were recognized; they included 31 species of pteridophyte spores (related to 20 genera) and 34 species of gymnosperm pollen (related to 14 genera). The dominance of monosaccate pollen confirms an age not older than Westphalian (Late Carboniferous) as documented in various Gondwanan basins. Besides the restricted presence and limited counts of typical guide taeniate bisaccate and non-taeniate bisaccate pollen in the present assemblage constrain and limit the age to the Asselian (Early Permian) and not younger. The paleovegetation of the studied palynoassemblage is reconstructed based on the paleobotanical affinities of the identified miospores, which are generally consistent with other macrofloral fossil records obtained from Egyptian outcrops during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. The paleoecological significance of the reconstructed paleovegetation enabled the recognition of two paleofloral communities: A lowland paleoflora represented by a cold climate wetland fern community associated with Lycopsida and Sphenopsida and an upland paleoflora dominated by a primitive group of gymnospermic plants with a unique moistureindependent reproduction strategy developed under the influence of a glacial climate. The high representation of the bilaterally or radially symmetrical monosaccate pollen genera, which are typical Late Paleozoic Gondwanan gymnospermic vegetation, in the present material supports the hypothesis that Egypt's Western Desert was part of the Gondwanan floral province during the Late Carboniferous/Early Permian.

T HE microalgal palynomorphs considered one of the main categories of non-pollen palynomorphs recognized in palynological slides which characterized by their potential paleoecological and stratigraphical values especially in the pre-Quaternary deposits. For this importance, four subsurface cutting samples recovered from two Cretaceous (Aptian/Albian and Turonian) geological units in Bougaz-1 well, northeast Sinai have been palynologically analyzed in order to study their algal content. Seven species of algae related to four genera from two divisions have been described and illustrated: Pediastrum boryanum, P. duplex, P. kawraiskyi, P. simplex, Scenedesmus acuminatus, and Chomotriletes minor (Chlorophyta); and Pterospermella sp. (Prasinophyta). Of these, two species (Pediastrum kawraiskyi and Scenedesmus acuminatus) are recorded for the first time from the Cretaceous of Egypt. Notes on the stratigraphic range and the geographical distribution of the most important recorded genera are given. The cell wall nature and its role in resistance to degradation are also discussed. The ecology of extant taxa has been used to determine the paleoenvironment and paleoecology prevailed in the studied area during the Cretaceous period.

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A WELL-preserved, diverse sporomorph assemblage of 62 species belonging to 39 genera has been recorded in two Cretaceous (Aptian/Albian) samples recovered from depths 3105m and 3117m in the Bougaz-1 well, northeast Sinai. The identified 62 species consist of 20 genera and 27 species of pteridophytic fern spores, nine genera and 15 species of gymnosperm pollen, and 10 genera and 20 species of angiosperm pollen. A correlation of the encountered sporomorphs and their parent plant affinities (classes, orders and families) has been attempted in order to give an image of the past vegetation in this part of Egypt. Vegetation reconstruction demonstrates a mixed forest which is represented by a mixture of ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms. A remarkable abundance of pteridophytic fern spores with other hygrophilous elements such as Afropollis pollen seems to indicate paleoclimatic trends towards warm humid conditions during the Aptian/Albian period in the studied area. This climatic preference is also confirmed by the low frequencies of conifer vegetation such as Araucariaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae and genetalean pollen (Ephedripites) which were predominant on the topographically higher and relatively xeric environments.

A FEW of the existing publications on Egyptian fossil plants provide special aids to identifying fossil wood remains. Two dichotomous keys to the angiosperm petrified wood species reported to date from the Egyptian strata are presented here to facilitate the tentative identification of angiosperm fossil wood specimens. The first key includes 19 species of Palmoxylon which is the morphogenus for the petrified palm stem that is the common representative of monocotyledones (Arecaceae) in the Egyptian fossil flora and can be identified to the species level. The second key contains 46 species of dicotyledonous petrified wood of different families reported in the literature from different ages and locations in Egypt. These keys would benefit palaeobotanists who might find the literature on Egyptian fossil wood not easily accessible.

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