No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
First fossil record of Aspidopterys (Malpighiaceae) from the Early Pliocene of southwestern China and its palaeobiogeographic implications
Historical Biology
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Malpighiaceae has undergone unprecedented changes in its traditional classification in the past two decades due to several phylogenetic studies shedding light on the non-monophyly of all subfamilies and most tribes and genera. Even though morphological characters were used to reconstruct the last molecular generic phylogeny of Malpighiaceae, a new classification system has never been proposed for this family. Based on a comprehensive review of the last twenty years of published studies for this family, we propose a new classification system and provide a taxonomic synopsis for Malpighiaceae based on molecular phylogenetics, morphology, palynology, and chemistry as a baseline for the systematics, conservation, and taxonomy of this family worldwide. Malpighiaceae currently comprises two subfamilies (Byrsonimoideae and Malpighioideae), 12 tribes ( Acmanthereae , Acridocarpeaetrib. nov., Barnebyeaetrib. nov., Bunchosieaetrib. nov., Byrsonimeae, Galphimieae, Gaudichaudieae, Hiptageae, Hiraeeae, Malpighieae, Mcvaughieaetrib. nov., and Ptilochaeteaetrib. nov.), 72 genera (incl. Mamedeagen. nov.), and 1,499 accepted species (715 of which are currently under some kind of extinction threat). We present identification keys for all subfamilies, tribes, and genera, a full morphological description for the proposed new genus, the re-circumscription of ten genera alongside the needed new combinations, the proposition of several new synonyms, the typification of several names, and notes on the taxonomy, distribution, conservation, and ecology up to the genus rank. Morphological plates are also provided to illustrate the immense diversity of morphological traits used in the new classification and synopsis.
Background and aims – Keraunea is a Brazilian endemic genus that has sat uncomfortably in Convolvulaceae where it was placed due to an enlarged and adnate fruit bract typical of Neuropeltis . A recent molecular phylogeny suggested that two of its five morphologically almost identical species actually belong to two different families, Malpighiaceae (superrosids) and Ehretiaceae (superasterids). Later studies have demonstrated that Keraunea effectively belongs to Ehretiaceae, but the proposal of one species belonging to Malpighiaceae has remained problematic. In this study, we re-assess this hypothesis, discuss the issues that have led to this assumption, and offer insights on the importance of carefully using herbarium collections and incorporating morphological evidence in systematic studies.
Material and methods – Sequences of matK , rbcL , and ITS for all 77 currently accepted genera of Malpighiaceae, K. brasiliensis and Elatinaceae (outgroup) were compiled from GenBank and analysed with Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference criteria for nuclear, plastid and combined datasets. Additional database and herbarium studies were performed to locate and analyse all duplicates of the holotype of K. brasiliensis to check for misidentified or contaminated material.
Key results – Our examination of expanded DNA datasets and herbarium sheets of all K. brasiliensis isotypes revealed that a mistake in tissue sampling was, in fact, what led to this species being proposed to belong in Malpighiaceae. Kew’s isotype had a leaf of Malpighiaceae (likely Mascagnia cordifolia ) stored in the fragment capsule, which was sampled and sequenced instead of the actual leaves of K. brasiliensis . Recently published studies have settled the placement of Keraunea in Ehretiaceae (Boraginales) and proposed three additional species.
Conclusions – DNA sequences can be helpful in classifying taxa when morphology is conflicting or of a doubtful interpretation, with molecular phylogenetic placement being established as a popular tool accelerating the discovery of systematic relationships. Nonetheless, molecular techniques are also susceptible to methodological mistakes, which necessitates building a solid foundation of plant morphology and taxonomy to avoid artefacts in phylogenetic studies.
Populus rotundifolia, which is an endemic of the Himilayas and adjacent regions, is the species that occupy the highest habitat in the Populus genus. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Populus rotundifolia was characterized from Illumina pair-end sequencing. The chloroplast genome of P. rotundifolia was 155,212 bp in length, containing a large single-copy region (LSC) of 84,545 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 16,859 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,904 bp. The overall GC content is 36.80%, while the correponding values of the LSC, SSC, and IR regions are 34.5%, 30.5%, and 42.3%, respectively. The genome contains 131 complete genes, including 86 protein-coding genes (62 protein-coding gene species), 37 tRNA genes (29 tRNA species) and 8 rRNA genes (4 rRNA species). The Neighbour-joining phylogenetic analysis showed that P. rotundifolia and Populus davidiana clustered together as sisters to other Populus species.
Samara (winged fruit) can be dispersed easily by wind and may be a crucial factor for angiosperm spread and diversification. In a narrow sense, a samara is an indehiscent dry fruit with wing(s) developed from fruit pericarp, while in a broad sense samaras also include all winged fruits with wings developed from both pericarp and peri-anth or bracts. According to the wing shape and growth patterns of samaras, we divided samaras into six types, i.e. single-winged, lanceolate-winged, rib-winged, sepal-winged, bract-winged, and perigynous samaras. Perigynous samaras can be further classified into two forms, i.e. round-winged and butterfly-winged samaras. Accordingly, the aerodynamic behavior of samaras can be classified into five types, autogyro, rolling autogyro, undulator, helicopter, and tumbler. The rib-winged and round-winged samaras can be found in Laurales, a basal angiosperm, and may represent the primitive type of early samaras. In the derived clades, samaras evolved enlarged but unequal wings and decreased wing loading (the ratio of fruit weight to wing size), which is likely an adaptation to gentle wind and secondary dispersal through water or ground wind. The wings of some samaras (such as sepal-winged and bract-winged samaras) may have multiple functions including wind dispersal, physical defense for the seeds, and adjust seed germination strategy. The pantropical family Malpighiaceae is extraordinarily rich in samara types, which is likely related to its multiple inter-continent dispersal in history, which is known as “Malpighiaceae Route”. Therefore, Malpighiaceae can be used as a model system for the studies on samara adaptation and evolution. We identified the following issues that deserve further examination in future studies using both ecological and evo-devo methods: 1) the adaption of different types of samaras in dispersal processes, 2) the molecular and developmental mechanism of sepal- and bract-wings, and 3) the evolution of samara types and their effects on angiosperm diversification. © 2018 Editorial Office of Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology. All rights reserved.
The Neotropical genus Mezia (Malpighiaceae) comprises 15 species of lianas (except M. huberi W.R.Anderson, a shrub or small tree). All have multibranched, densely brown-sericeous inflorescences with the ultimate unit a 4-flowered umbel of bilaterally symmetrical flowers. The distinctive pair of large cymbiform bracteoles subtends a rudimentary pedicel and encloses the floral bud. The flowers contain elongate sepals, the lateral four biglandular, yellow petals, the posterior often splotched with red, a heteromorphic androecium, and a tricarpellate gynoecium. The three styles are all free; the posterior pair is lyrate in five species but erect in the others. The samaras have an orbicular to oblate lateral wing and a much smaller dorsal wing; in most species, additional winglets and/or crests are present between the lateral and dorsal wings. Only Mezia mariposa W.R.Anderson has butterfly-shaped samaras lacking additional ornamentation. Four new species are proposed: Mezia andersonii C.E.Anderson, M. bahiana C.E.Anderson, M. fanshawei C.E.Anderson and M. sericea C.E.Anderson. One variety is elevated to species level and provided with a new name, Mezia peruviana C.E.Anderson; a lectotype is chosen for Diplopterys involuta var. ovata Nied. Full descriptions and synonymies are provided, as well as a distribution map. All species are illustrated.
(Taxonomic revision of Amorimia W.R.Anderson (Malpighiaceae)). The taxonomic revision of Amorimia (Malpighiaceae) is presented, including typifications, and redescriptions for all accepted species. The genus is endemic to Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests and Rainforests of South America, and its species are distinguished by details in the leaves, indumenta, inflorescences, floral, and fruit morphology. This study includes full morphological descriptions for all taxa, along with an identification key for its subgenera and species, illustrations, distribution maps, conservation risk assessments, and comments on ecology, nomenclature, and taxonomy. Additionally, I provide a key to differentiate Amorimia from the remaining genera of the Malpighioid clade.
Fossil flowers with affinities to Malpighiaceae have been discovered in the Middle Eocene Claiborne formation of northwestern Tennessee. The new taxon Eoglandulosa warmanensis gen. et sp. nov. Taylor and Crepet, has paired glands on the five sepals, clawed petals and tricolporate pollen with reticulate ornamentation and an unusual infratectal wall structure of anastomosing elements. The fossil is similar in wall structure to some extant species of Malpighiaceae. Glandular floral morphology in extant species is associated with specific anthophorid bee pollinators and the fossil evidence suggests that such specific plant-pollinator relationships existed during the Eocene. This fossil species also suggests that by the Eocene, South American floral elements had migrated to North America via island pathways, and that the Mississippi embayment was nearly frost-free.
Premise of research. Cyclocarya Iljinskaya (Juglandaceae) is a genus with a single living species that is endemic to central and south China. The genus has an abundant North American and Eurasian fossil record from the Paleocene to the Pliocene, documenting its spread across Europe to western Siberia during the Oligocene and its arrival in Japan by the Miocene. However, there have been no fossil occurrences of Cyclocarya near its modern distribution. In this study, we describe a new species of Cyclocarya from the upper Miocene Nanlin Formation in Lianghe County, western Yunnan Province, southwest China, and discuss its biogeographic implications.Methodology. We examined the fossil fruit using LM and SEM, and we compared its morphology with fruits of fossil Cyclocarya and extant Cyclocarya paliurus (Batalin) Iljinsk.Pivotal results. The fossil fruit of Cyclocarya simipaliurus sp. nov. consists of a small nutlet that is surrounded by a circular and flange-like wing. The nutlet is circular in plan view and oblate in longitudinal view. Nutlet structure and the epidermal characteristics of the wing indicate that this fossil fruit is almost identical to that of the extant species, C. paliurus.
Conclusions. The specimen reported here is the only reliable fossil of Cyclocarya known from China. The new fossil species helps to fill a significant gap in the fossil record of Cyclocarya, indicating that the genus had reached the westernmost boundary of its modern distribution by the late Miocene. Western Yunnan had a warm and humid climate during the late Neogene, and the rapid uplift of the Yunnan Plateau began in the Pliocene. Pleistocene glaciations may have forced Cyclocarya to retreat from western Yunnan, and the uplifted mountains and deep river valleys might have posed barriers for reconnection during the interglacials.
The Puerto Viejo Pleistocene megafossil flora presented here is based on fossil leaves, fruits, and seeds from the banks of Río Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Eleven types of plant megafossils are described in this study, including Laurophyllum, Oxandra, Piperites, Ingeae, Parinari, Sacoglottis, Byrsonima, and Pouteria. Detailed morphological and anatomical data are provided for each taxon. Although the Puerto Viejo site is situated in the Atlantic Lowland Tropical Wet Forest today, the fossil flora suggests a relationship with nearby modern forests at slightly higher elevation, and cooler paleotemperatures than at present.
The genus Fraxinus was one of well represented fossil records in the Northern Hemisphere in the Paleogene and Neogene. Fraxinus cf. honshuensis is first-time recognized and described in Lincang area, Yunnan Province, China. Furthermore, morphological parameters of 12 fossil species and 9 extent species of Fraxinus samaras were measured in order to obtain the evolutionary trend of the winged-fruit through the geologic time. The influence of the wind dispersal on the morphological variation of the winged-fruits was assessed for this genus. The result suggests that, during Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene, Fraxinus samaras reached their maximum capability for wind dispersal, which is in accordance with the geographic extension in fossil record. Macrofossil records indicated that this genus might firstly migrated from the higher latitudes to the lower latitudes through the Beringia or the North Atlantic Bridge before Middle Miocene and finally spread into the subtropical and tropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere at present.
Two fossil leaves identified as Castanopsis presclerophylla n. sp. collected from a diatomite bed in the upper Pliocene (3.3–2.8 Ma) in Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, Southwest China, are characterized by elliptic laminar shapes with acuminate apex, convex base, simple trichome bases and cyclocytic stomata. The cuticles of extant leaves from six selected Castanopsis species that are similar to the Pliocene fossil leaves in laminar shape were examined in detail for the comparison. Based on the analysis of leaf architecture and cuticular characteristics, the present fossil leaves most closely resemble the extant leaves of Castanopsis sclerophylla (Lindl.) Schott., which prefers a subtropical climate. The published fossil records of Castanopsis also indicate that it was once widely distributed in North America, Europe and Asia before the Pliocene, and then rapidly retreated to the East and Southeast Asia as a result of the Pleistocene glaciation.
Based on leaf physiognomy of the Late Pliocene Tuantian megaflora from the Mangbang Formation of Tengchong County in western Yunnan, a quantitative reconstruction of palaeoclimate was performed with Leaf Margin Analysis (1,MA) methodology and the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP). The latter produced the following parameters: mean annual temperature (MAT) from 17.2 to 17.7 degrees C; warmest month mean temperature (WMMT) from 25 to 25.5 degrees C; coldest month mean temperature (CMMT) from 9.5 to 10.8 degrees C; length of growing season (GRS) from 9.5 to 9.7 months; growing season precipitation (GSP) from 1834.3 to 1901.2 mm; mean monthly growing season precipitation (MMGSP) from 222.4 to 230.5 mm; precipitation during the three consecutive wettest months (3-WET) from 892.1 to 917.8 mm; precipitation during the three consecutive driest months (3-DRY) from 474.5 to 512.8 mm; relative humidity (RH) from 76.7 to 77.8%; specific humidity (SH) from 10.7 to 10.8 g/kg; and enthalpy (ENTHAL) from 31.8 to 32 kj/kg. However, the MAT obtained from the Chinese LMA regression at 18.7 degrees C, is slightly higher than that from CLAMP. The integrated analysis of these data and three adjacent pollen floras in western Yunnan suggests that the Gaoligong Mountains (a southern portion of the Hengduan Mountains) were only raised to modest altitudes in the Late Pliocene.
Significance
Long-term morphological stasis is a major feature of the paleontological record, but the explanation for this pattern has been controversial. Here, we use the species-rich plant clade Malpighiaceae to determine whether long-term floral stasis is maintained by selection or developmental and genetic constraint. Our results, which use an explicit phylogenetic framework and comparative methods, strongly support selection. We hypothesize that this floral morphology has been maintained over tens of millions of years via their specialized pollinator interaction with oil-collecting bees. To our knowledge, this study in which stasis has been connected to such a plant-pollinator mutualism, is unique, and opens the door to future research on how this association may have enhanced diversification in this plant lineage.
THE PRESENCE OF A NEOTROPICAL FAMILY (MALPIGHIACEAE) IN THE FAR SOUTH OF SOUTH AMERICA DURING THE EOCENE. Presented here is the discovery of pollen grains and a foliar impression assigned to Malpighiaceae from the Río Turbio Formation, SW Santa Cruz Province, indicating the presence of this Neotropical family in the southernmost tip of South America by the Eocene. Perisyncolporites pokornyi Germeraad, Hopping & Muller, erected to group fossil pollen similar to Malpighiaceae, includes a wide variety of pollen-forms with a complex aperture distribution, more or less concordant with the sides of a hexagon. The extant clades most closely related to the fossil forms of the Río Turbio Formation (Tetrapteroids and Stigmaphylloids) are today distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of South America, reaching up to the 35ºS. The only extant species distributed closer to the studied area, and that, in turn, represents the world’s southernmost penetration of the family (Gallardoa fischeri Hicken, reaching the 42°S), is morphologically unrelated to the studied fossils. The foliar impression is similar to those recognized previously in the Río Pichileufú locality, Río Negro Province (Mascagnia sepiumoides Berry, Tetrapteris precrebrifolia Berry), and also in the Río Turbio Formation (Tetrapteris precrebrifolia Berry). The present results support earlier hypotheses that suggest a major penetration of Neotropical lineages into the southernmost latitudes during the Eocene as well as a possible migration to Australia via Antarctica, at least of those perisyncolporate-related forms.
Key words: Malpighiaceae, fossil pollen, foliar impression, Eocene, Patagonia.
In the fossil record, Ailanthus (Simaroubaceae) is easily recognized on the basis of winged fruits (samaroid mericarps with a centrally placed seed) and leaves with distinct basal glands and is well represented in the Northern Hemisphere Tertiary. We review worldwide Ailanthus records from the literature and from observations of paleobotanical collections, make suggestions for nomenclature, highlight youngest and oldest stratigraphic occurrences, and infer the geographic origin of the genus. Traditionally, species epithets were applied to Ailanthus fossils on the basis of their geographic origin. Because of morphological homogeneity of the fruits found in Europe, North America, and Asia, we propose synonomy of most occurrences under the name Ailanthus confucii Unger. We found earliest examples in the Early Eocene of North America and Asia and in the Middle Eocene of Europe. Youngest occurrences were found from the Middle Miocene of North America, the Pliocene of Europe, and the Pleistocene of Asia. The stratigraphic and geographic records of Ailanthus favor a western North American or eastern Asian origin by the Early Eocene and subsequent diversification in Europe. However, there is no fossil evidence to explain the directionality and timing of the dispersal between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. According to the chemical and molecular evidence of previous authors, Ailanthus is positioned basally within the Simaroubaceae. Therefore, the Ailanthus fossil record indicates a minimum age of Early Eocene for the Simaroubaceae.
Fin-winged fruits have two or more wings aligned with the longitudinal axis like the feathers of an arrow, as exemplified by Combretum, Halesia, and Ptelea. Such fruits vary in dispersal mode from those in which the fruit itself is the ultimate disseminule, to schizocarps dispersing two or more mericarps, to capsules releasing multiple seeds. At least 45 families and more than 140 genera are known to possess fin-winged fruits. We present an inventory of these taxa and describe their morphological characters as an aid for the identification and phylogenetic assessment of fossil and extant genera. Such fruits are most prevalent among Eudicots, but occur occasionally in Magnoliids (Hernandiaceae: Illigera) and Monocots (Burmannia, Dioscorea, Herreria). Although convergent in general form, fin-winged fruits of different genera can be distinguished by details of the wing number, texture, shape and venation, along with characters of persistent floral parts and dehiscence mode. Families having genera with fin-winged fruits and epigynous perianth include Aizoaceae, Apiaceae, Araliaceae, Asteraceae, Begoniaceae, Burmanniaceae, Combretaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Haloragaceae, Lecythidiaceae, Lophopyxidaceae, Loranthaceae, and Styracaceae. Families with genera having fin-winged fruits and hypogynous perianth include Achariaceae, Brassicaceae, Burseraceae, Celastraceae, Cunoniaceae, Cyrillaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Melianthaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Pedaliaceae, Polygalaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Polygonaceae, Rhamnaceae, Salicaceae sl, Sapindaceae, Simaroubaceae, Trigoniaceae, and Zygophyllaceae. This survey has facilitated the identification of fossil winged fruits such as Combretaceae and Araliaceae in the late Cretaceous of western North America and provides additional evidence toward the identification of various Cenozoic fossils including Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae, Rutaceae, and Sapindaceae.
The Malpighiaceae are a family of ∼1250 species of predominantly New World tropical flowering plants. Infrafamilial classification has long been based on fruit characters. Phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA nucleotide sequences were analyzed to help resolve the phylogeny of Malpighiaceae. A total of 79 species, representing 58 of the 65 currently recognized genera, were studied. The 3' region of the gene ndhF was sequenced for 77 species and the noncoding intergenic spacer region trnL-F was sequenced for 65 species; both sequences were obtained for the outgroup, Humiria (Humiriaceae). Phylogenetic relationships inferred from these data sets are largely congruent with one another and with results from combined analyses. The family is divided into two major clades, recognized here as the subfamilies Byrsonimoideae (New World only) and Malpighioideae (New World and Old World). Niedenzu's tribes are all polyphyletic, suggesting extensive convergence on similar fruit types; only de Jussieu's tribe Gaudichaudieae and Anderson's tribes Acmanthereae and Galphimieae are monophyletic. Fleshy fruits evolved three times in the family and bristly fruits at least three times. Among the wing-fruited vines, which constitute more than half the diversity in the family, genera with dorsal-winged samaras are fairly well resolved, while the resolution of taxa with lateral-winged samaras is poor. The trees suggest a shift from radially symmetrical pollen arrangement to globally symmetrical pollen at the base of one of the clades within the Malpighioideae. The Old World taxa fall into at least six and as many as nine clades.
Madagasikaria andersonii is described here as a new genus and species of Malpighiaceae from Madagascar. The phylogenetic placement of Madagasikaria was estimated by using combined data from ndhF and trnL-F chloroplast sequences and phytochrome (PHYC) and ITS nuclear sequences. It forms a strongly supported clade with the Malagasy endemic genera Rhynchophora and Microsteira. Despite nearly identical floral morphology among species in this clade (here called the madagasikarioid clade), these genera are easily distinguishable on the basis of their fruits. The schizocarpic fruits of Madagasikaria have distinctive mericarps. Each mericarp has a lateral wing, which completely encircles the nut, and a peculiar dorsal wing, which folds over on itself. The morphology of this fruit suggests that the homology of the unusual wing in Rhynchophora is lateral in nature and represents a reduced wing similar to the lateral wing in Madagasikaria. Taxa in the madagasikarioid clade all appear to be morphologically androdioecious and functionally dioecious, producing both staminate and "bisexual" (i.e., functionally carpellate) individuals. This condition appears to be exceedingly rare in flowering plants and has important implications for floral evolution within Malpighiaceae. Neotropical Malpighiaceae are pollinated by specialized oil-collecting anthophorine bees of the tribe Centridini and exhibit highly conserved floral morphology despite tremendous diversity in fruit morphology and habit. These oil-collecting bees are absent from the paleotropics, where most members of the Malpighiaceae lack both the oil glands and the typical floral orientation crucial to pollination by neotropical oil-collecting bees. The madagasikarioids represent one shift from the neotropical pollination syndrome among Old World Malpighiaceae.
Unlabelled:
Premise of the study:
The Malpighiaceae include ∼1300 tropical flowering plant species in which generic definitions and intergeneric relationships have long been problematic. The goals of our study were to resolve relationships among the 11 generic segregates from the New World genus Mascagnia, test the monophyly of the largest remaining Malpighiaceae genera, and clarify the placement of Old World Malpighiaceae. •
Methods:
We combined DNA sequence data for four genes (plastid ndhF, matK, and rbcL and nuclear PHYC) from 338 ingroup accessions that represented all 77 currently recognized genera with morphological data from 144 ingroup species to produce a complete generic phylogeny of the family. •
Key results and conclusions:
The genera are distributed among 14 mostly well-supported clades. The interrelationships of these major subclades have strong support, except for the clade comprising the wing-fruited genera (i.e., the malpighioid+Amorimia, Ectopopterys, hiraeoid, stigmaphylloid, and tetrapteroid clades). These results resolve numerous systematic problems, while others have emerged and constitute opportunities for future study. Malpighiaceae migrated from the New to Old World nine times, with two of those migrants being very recent arrivals from the New World. The seven other Old World clades dispersed much earlier, likely during the Tertiary. Comparison of floral morphology in Old World Malpighiaceae with their closest New World relatives suggests that morphological stasis in the New World likely results from selection by neotropical oil-bee pollinators and that the morphological diversity found in Old World flowers has evolved following their release from selection by those bees.
Propeller-like winged fruits of Tetrapterys harpyiarum Unger from the Oligocene of Sotzka, Budapest, Eger-Vécsey valley, and a new occurrence at Eger-Kiseged, were reinvestigated and compared in detail with extant species of Tetrapterys (Malpighiaceae) and with other dicotyledonous genera with four winged fruits. T. harpyiarum fruits are bilaterally symmetrical, consisting of a globose nut surrounded by four elongate wings with parallel venation. Tetrapterys is now distributed only in tropical America and this implies that there was an opportunity for Tetrapterys to spread between the Partethys region and the New World during the Tertiary.
The fossil records of Pinus L. are abundant since the Late Cretaceous, especially for the subgenus Pinus L. (the hard pines). However, those of the subgenus Strobus (D. Don) Lemmon (the white or soft pines) are not well documented. In this study, we describe a new species of white pines, Pinus plioarmandii sp. nov., from the Pliocene of western Yunnan, southwestern China. This species mostly resembles extant P. armandii Franch. in gross morphology and cuticular structure of needles. Molecular dating showed that the Asian white pines split into two lineages around the Late Miocene, and the Pinus armandii clade diverged at the Early Pliocene. The present fossil occurrence indicates that Pinus armandii might originate in southwest China and probably in the western Yunnan. The glacial events during the Pleistocene might be the major factors for the retreat of the white pines from western Yunnan, and the rapid uplift of the Yunnan Plateau and deep incision of the river valleys since the Pliocene had posed a significant geographic barrier for their reconnection in the subsequent warm climate condition.
Morphological and aerodynamic traits affecting mean potential dispersal distance are quantified for wind-dispersed diaspores of tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. The sample includes 34 species in 16 families and represents six aerodynamic groups. Mass and area (maximum cross section) each vary over six orders of magnitude among the species. In contrast, wing-loading, defined as weight divided by area, varies over only one order of magnitude, as does the rate of descent. While the regression of rate of descent on the square root of wing-loading is significant overall, the slopes vary significantly among five aerodynamic groups. At comparable wing-loading values, diaspores of fluffy kapok fall faster than four other aerodynamic groups and rolling autogyros fall faster than non-rolling autogyros. Assuming the diaspores are released from their typical tree height and experience a mean windspeed of 1.75 m sec⁻⁻¹, the expected mean dispersal distance varies among the 34 species from 22 to 194 m. Rate of descent is weakly correlated with shade tolerance of seedlings for a subset of 18 species; rate of descent is more strongly correlated with the log of dry mass of seed for all 34 species. Given these wide differences in dispersal potential, any generalizations about tropical trees that use wind dispersal are of dubious value.
The recent discovery of diverse fossil flowers and floral organs in Cretaceous strata has revealed astonishing details about the structural and systematic diversity of early angiosperms. Exploring the rich fossil record that has accumulated over the last three decades, this is a unique study of the evolutionary history of flowering plants from their earliest phases in obscurity to their dominance in modern vegetation. The discussion provides comprehensive biological and geological background information, before moving on to summarise the fossil record in detail. Including previously unpublished results based on research into Early and Late Cretaceous fossil floras from Europe and North America, the authors draw on direct palaeontological evidence of the pattern of angiosperm evolution through time. Synthesising palaeobotanical data with information from living plants, this unique book explores the latest research in the field, highlighting connections with phylogenetic systematics, structure and the biology of extant angiosperms.
Systematic K-Ar Dating has been yielded for Pliocene-Recent volcanic eruptions in the Tengchong volcano area, mainly for latest eruptions of Heikongshan, Dayingshan and Maanshan craters. After distignishing plagioclase-phenocryst and olivine-phenocryst with excess argon from samples, a series age of the matrix of volcanic rocks has been obtained. From time-space exchanges and distribution, the activities of the Tengchong volcano could be divided into three stages. The first stage developed in the late Pliocene, when the volcanic eruptions occurred in southeastern and northwestern ends of the Tengchong volcano area. The second stage experienced in the early Pleistocene suggests that the volcanic activities were migrated and transferred to central areas of the basin. At this stage, volcanic scale and distribution were largest compared with that in other stages. The third stage occurred during the early Pleistocene-Holocene. During the late of Early Pleistocene-Middle Pleistocene, volcanic scales were decreased, and mainly distributed on a NS-trending belt in the center of the Tengchong basin. Since late Pleistocene, the volcanic activities have been focused on Heikongshan, Dayingshan, and Maanshan areas. There was volcanic activity in Maanshan area in the Holocene. The third volcanic stage is characterized as from central-northern to southern parts, it qets younger and younger. This means that the volcanic activities are transferred from north to south.
Dispersed fruits and seeds accumulate in both active and quiet sedimentary environments. Collection involves developing a search image for beds of finely to coarsely divided plant material, collecting appropriate samples, and separating the plant material and matrix in the field or in the laboratory. Individual fossils may be studied morphologically or anatomically as required. Fruits and seeds often sample an aspect of the flora and vegetation not represented by other organs and thus expand our knowledge of communities and plants of the past. -from Author
Among 34 wind-dispersed tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, the wet mass of diaspores ranges over six orders of magnitude, The seed mass as a percentage of diaspore mass (S/D) varies greatly among species from 14 to 94% with a mean value of 61% The mean percent moisture of diaspores is 10% no consistent differences occur between seed and non-seed components of diaspores in percent moisture. Wing-loading (weight/area) and hence dispersal capacity varies over one order of magnitude among these species and is correlated more highly with S/D than with percent moisture of diaspores. Compared to fruit diaspores, seed diaspores have less mass and a greater S/D, and are slightly more dehydrated. As a result, seed diaspores have lower wing-loading and greater dispersal capacity than fruit diaspores. The morphological/aerodynamic features of a diaspore also have a significant effect on the mass variables. Overall, the type of diaspore (fruit or seed) is of major importance in explaining mass differences of diaspores among these wind-dispersed species; morphological features and dehydration ability contribute secondarily.
Seeds and fruits of widely differing sizes and shapes and which employ different flight styles in wind-borne movement during dispersal are discussed qualitatively in general aerodynamic terms, and grouped according to aerodynamic rather than botanical features. Most of these groups are considered separately, though not in any great detail, and the salient features of the differing motions belonging to each are described. The response of species, in particular to variations in vertical wind velocities, is mentioned as an important factor affecting-deposition and dispersal range, and how because of this response some forced deposition may be possible with the introduction of suitably shaped obstacles to wind flow.
INTRODUCTION
The collection which is the basis for the present report was made by Señor José Ramón Guiñazú, of the Dirección General de Minas y Geología de la República Argentina, and I am greatly indebted to him and to that organization for the privilege of studying this most interesting fossil flora.
Many others, in addition to previous writers, have been of material assistance, and I record my grateful thanks to Dr. George Gaylord Simpson, of the American Museum of Natural History, who, as leader of the Scarritt Patagonian expeditions, brought this magnificent collection to my attention; to Señor I. Rafael Cordini, of Buenos Aires, for a most excellent collection of recent plants from the Lago Nahuel Huapi region, which after having been used by me in these studies I presented to the United States National Herbarium; to Dr. Frank M. Carpenter, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, who has examined the insect remains associated with the fossil plants; to Dr. Bailey Willis, for his generosity in placing his Patagonian photographs at my disposal; and to the Geological Society of America, for a grant to defray the cost of photographing the fossil specimens.
My task has been considerably lightened by the available information on the geography of the region contained in the publication that resulted from the survey made in 1911–14 by the Ministry of Public Works and directed by Bailey Willis (1914), covering the region from the port of San Antonio, on the Atlantic coast, past the Rio Pichileufu . . .
~ "- ' ~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!I It is a truism tha,t the present floras and faunas of Central America are the result of a long series of antecedent geologic changes which might be amplified as geographic, climatic, and biologic. As the past can only be understood by means of our knowledge of the present, so, too, the present can only be understood by means of our knowledge of the past. Moreover, this can never be a local prob lem, and this is particularly true of the Isthmus of Panama marking as it does at times the highway of communication between the ter restrial life, both animal and plant, of North and South America; at other times marking one of the paths of communication between the marine life of the Atlantic and Pacific. Thus the history of the Central American region is of t.he utmost importance in any con sideration of the extinct terrestrial faunas and floras of North Alner ica or the marine faunas that formerly flourished on the east and west coasts. Our knowledge of the present flora of the isthmian region is based upon Seemann's flora 2 and Hemsley's flora of Central America, sup plemented by the scattered papers by numerous authors on special topics relating to this flora. As the results of the recent Biological Survey of the Canal Zone become available, we will doubtless have a secure basis for comparisons with antecedant floras both in this region and the areas north and south of it. The present distribution of plant associations is in its broader outlines governed almost entirely by the interrelations' between
In the light of morphological and molecular evidence that the genus Mascagnia is polyphyletic, eight segregate genera are described, discussed, and illustrated, the necessary new combinations are proposed, and five new species are described (Amorimia camporum, A. kariniana, A. septentrionalis, A. velutina, and Niedenzuella caracasana). Keys to genera and species are provided. The genera and species are: Adelphia W. R. Anderson [A. hiraea (Gaertner) W. R. Anderson, A. macrophylla (Rusby) W. R. Anderson, A. mirabilis (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, A. platyrachis (Triana & Planchon) W. R. Anderson]; Aenigmatanthera W. R. Anderson [A. doniana (Grisebach in Martius) W. R. Anderson, A. lasiandra (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson]; Alicia W. R. Anderson [A. anisopetala (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, A. macrodisca (Triana & Planchon) W. R. Anderson]; Amorimia W. R. Anderson [A. amazonica (Niedenzu) W. R. Anderson, A. camporum W. R. Anderson, A. concinna (C. V. Morton) W. R. Anderson, A. exotropica (Grisebach in Martius) W. R. Anderson, A. kariniana W. R. Anderson, A. maritima (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, A. pubiflora (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, A. rigida (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, A. septentrionalis W. R. Anderson, A. velutina W. R. Anderson]; Carolus W. R. Anderson [C. anderssonii (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, C. chasei (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, C. chlorocarpus (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, C. dukei (Cuatrecasas & Croat) W. R. Anderson, C. renidens (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, C. sinemariensis (Aublet) W. R. Anderson]; Christianella W. R. Anderson [C. glandulifera (Cuatrecasas) W. R. Anderson, C. mesoamericana (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, C. multiglandulosa (Niedenzu in Chodat & Hassler) W. R. Anderson, C. paludicola (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, C. surinamensis (Kostermans) W. R. Anderson]; Malpighiodes Niedenzu [M. bracteosa (Grisebach in Martius) W. R. Anderson, M. guianensis (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson, M. leucanthele (Grisebach in Martius) W. R. Anderson, M. liesneri (W. R. Anderson) W. R. Anderson]; and Niedenzuella W. R. Anderson [N. acutifolia (Cavanilles) W. R. Anderson, N. caracasana W. R. Anderson, N. castanea (Cuatrecasas) W. R. Anderson, N. glabra (Sprengel) W. R. Anderson, N. leucosepala (Grisebach) W. R. Anderson, N. lucida (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, N. mater-dei (Cuatrecasas) W. R. Anderson, N. metensis (Cuatrecasas) W. R. Anderson, N. mogoriifolia (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, N. multiglandulosa (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, N. peruviana (Niedenzu) W. R. Anderson, N. poeppigiana (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, N. sericea (A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire) W. R. Anderson, N. stannea (Grisebach) W. R. Anderson, N. suaveolens (A. Jussieu) W. R. Anderson, N. warmingiana (Grisebach) W. R. Anderson]. Lectotypes are designated for the following names: Heladena hassleriana Niedenzu in Chodat & Hassler, Hiraea anisopetala A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Hiraea glabra Sprengel, Hiraea heteropetala A. Jussieu, Hiraea multiflora Grisebach, Hiraea poeppigiana A. Jussieu, Hiraea pubiflora A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Hiraea renidens A. Jussieu, Hiraea rigida A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Hiraea sericea A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Malpighiodes Niedenzu, Malpighiodes spruceana Niedenzu, Mascagnia sect. Pleuropterys Grisebach in Martius, Mascagnia subsect. Sericopetalis Niedenzu, Mascagnia coriacea Grisebach in Martius, Mascagnia exotropica Grisebach in Martius, Mascagnia jamaicensis Urban & Niedenzu, Mascagnia multiglandulosa Niedenzu in Chodat & Hassler, Mascagnia parnahybensis Glaziou, Mascagnia sericans Niedenzu in Chodat & Hassler, Tetrapterys fraxinifolia A. Jussieu, Tetrapterys guilleminiana A. Jussieu, Tetrapterys lancifolia A. Jussieu, Tetrapterys ligustrifolia Niedenzu, Tetrapterys lucida A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Tetrapterys martiana Niedenzu, Tetrapterys mogoriifolia A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire, Tetrapterys multiglandulosa A. Jussieu, Tetrapterys punctulata A. Jussieu in A. St.-Hilaire.
Aim The complex palaeogeography of the Malesian archipelago, characterized by the evolution of an ever‐changing mosaic of terrestrial and marine areas throughout the Cenozoic, provides the geographic backdrop for the remarkable diversification of Malesian Begonia (> 450 species). This study aimed to investigate the origin of Malesian Begonia , the directionality of dispersal events within the Malesian archipelago and the impact of ancient water gaps on colonization patterns, and to identify drivers of diversification.
Location Asia, Southeast Asia, Malesia.
Methods Plastid DNA sequence data of representatives of all families of the Cucurbitales and Fagales ( mat K, rbc L, trn L intron, trn L–F spacer, 4076 aligned positions, 92 taxa) and a sample of all major Asian Begonia sections ( ndh A intron, ndh F– rpl 32 spacer, rpl 32– trn L spacer, 4059 aligned positions, 112 taxa) were analysed under an uncorrelated‐rates relaxed molecular clock model to estimate the age of the Begonia crown group divergence and divergence ages within Asian Begonia . Ancestral areas were reconstructed using a likelihood approach implementing a dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis model, and with a Bayesian approach to dispersal–vicariance analysis.
Results The results indicated an initial diversification of Asian Begonia in continental Asia in the Miocene, and subsequent colonization of Malesia by multiple lineages. There was support for at least six independent dispersal events from continental Asia and western Malesia to Wallacea dating from the late Miocene to the Pleistocene. Begonia section Petermannia (> 270 species) originated in Western Malesia, and subsequently dispersed to Wallacea, New Guinea and the Philippines. Lineages within this section diversified rapidly since the Pliocene, coinciding with rapid orogenesis on Sulawesi and New Guinea.
Main conclusions The predominant trend of Begonia dispersals between continental Asia and Malesia, and also within Malesia, has been from west to east. The water bodies separating the Sunda Shelf region from Wallacea have been porous barriers to dispersal in Begonia following the emergence of substantial land in eastern Malesia from the late Miocene onwards. We hypothesize two major drivers of the diversification of Malesian Begonia : (1) the formation of topographical heterogeneity and the promotion of microallopatry by orogenesis in the Pliocene and Pleistocene; and (2) cyclic vicariance by frequent habitat fragmentations and amalgamations due to climate and sea‐level fluctuations during the Pleistocene.
Using data from previous research on Quercus sect. Heterobalanus, the coexistence approach to Xixabangma and Namling fossil sets, and altitudinal ranges of vegetation presented by fossil
floras, a review and reevaluation have been made of existing theories on the uplift of the Himalayas, especially the palaeoaltitudes
of Xixabangma and Namling in Tibet. The Xixabangma fossil set has a palaeoaltitude range of 2500–3500 m, and has risen 2200–3400
m since the Pliocene. The lower and upper assemblages of the Miocene Namling had palaeoaltitudes of 2500–3000 m and 2800–3000
m, respectively. Therefore, Namling has risen at least 1300 m since the Miocene, thereby challenging some existing theories
that suggest Namling has been static since the Miocene.
Anderson, C. (University of Michigan Herbarium, North University Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1057, U.S.A.). Novelties in Mascagnia (Malpighiaceae). Brittonia 53: 405-415. 2001. Seven new species of Mascagnia are described: M. tomentosa from southern Mexico and Central America; M. arenicola from the Guianas; M. riparia, M. tucuruensis, and M. velutina from Brazil; M. boliviana from Bolivia; and M. australis from Argentina and Paraguay. These novelties were previously included in the "M. sepium-complex," an omnium-gatherum comprising superficially similar yellow-flowered taxa.
Explanations for biogeographic disjunctions involving South America and Africa typically invoke vicariance of western Gondwanan biotas or long distance dispersal. These hypotheses are problematical because many groups originated and diversified well after the last known connection between Africa and South America (approximately 105 million years ago), and it is unlikely that "sweepstakes" dispersal accounts for many of these disjunctions. Phylogenetic analyses of the angiosperm clade Malpighiaceae, combined with fossil evidence and molecular divergence-time estimates, suggest an alternative hypothesis to account for such distributions. We propose that Malpighiaceae originated in northern South America, and that members of several clades repeatedly migrated into North America and subsequently moved via North Atlantic land connections into the Old World during episodes starting in the Eocene, when climates supported tropical forests. This Laurasian migration route may explain many other extant lineages that exhibit western Gondwanan distributions.
Malpighiaceae in Flora do Brasil 2020
- R F Almeida
- A Francener
- C Pessoa
- R Sebastiani
- Y R Oliveira
- Ama Amorim
- Mch Mamede
- Almeida RF
Almeida RF, Francener A, Pessoa C, Sebastiani R, Oliveira YR,
Amorim AMA, Mamede MCH. 2020. Malpighiaceae in Flora do Brasil
2020. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/
reflora/floradobrasil/FB155.
Cenozoic Coal-bearing Basins and Coal-forming Regularity in West Yunnan
- H R Ge
- D Y Li
- Ge HR
Ge HR, Li DY. 1999. Cenozoic Coal-bearing Basins and Coal-forming Regularity
in West Yunnan. Yunnan Science and Technology Press, Kunming. (in
Chinese, with English abstract).
Depósitos Neocretácicos y Terciarios del Extremo SSW de Santa Cruz (Cuenca carbonífera de Río Turbio). Revista del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones de las Ciencias Naturales (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”)
- Hünicken M
Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- Powo
POWO. 2024. Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew. [accessed 2024 Aug 30]. http://www.plantsoftheworldon
line.org/.
Excentradenia, a new genus of Malpighiaceae from South America
- W R Anderson
- Anderson WR
Anderson WR. 1997. Excentradenia, a new genus of Malpighiaceae from South
America. Contrib Univ Mich Herbarium. 21:29-36.
Pollen et paléobotanique des Malpighiaceae
- D Lobreau-Callen
- Lobreau-Callen D
Lobreau-Callen D. 1984. Pollen et paléobotanique des Malpighiaceae. Revue de
Paléobiologie. Special:131-138.
The Forest Herbarium
- P Sirirugsa
- Sirirugsa P
Sirirugsa P. 1991. Malpighiaceae. In: Smitiand T, Larsen K, editors. Flora of
Thailand. Bangkok: The Forest Herbarium; p. 272-299.