Reappraisal of two of Witham's species of fossil wood with taxonomical and nomenclatural notes on Planoxylon Stopes, Protocedroxylon Gothan and Xenoxylon Gothan

Fossil wood collections at the Natural History Museum, London, were searched for the type material of two important species, described as early as 1831 by Witham, on the basis of material at least partly furnished by Nicol and collected in the Liassic of Whitby (Yorkshire, UK). The names given to these two species by Witham are the basionyms for more than ten other species names, while these species names also provide syntypes for several generic names. Despite this, the original material has been only rarely and partly revised, leading to much confusion.We managed to locate some of the original material. Several topotypes were also studied. On the basis of this review we propose here a neotypification for Peuce huttoniana Witham, a lectotypification for Cupressinoxylon barberi Seward and a lectotypification for Tiloxylon Hartig. We evidence several taxonomical and nomenclatural synonymies, assign Peuce lindleyana Witham to Protocedroxylon and P. huttoniana to Xenoxylon Gothan, and introduce the new combination Xenoxylon huttonianum (Witham) nov. comb. as the correct name for Xenoxylon ellipticum Gottwald & Holleis ex Schultze-Motel.A topotype of Araucariopitys americana Hollick & Jeffrey was also reviewed, which, together with previous results, leads us to suggest that Araucariopitys Hollick & Jeffrey, Protocedroxylon Gothan and Planoxylon Stopes should not be considered as taxonomical synonyms. This point is crucial to the interpretation of the fossil record of Early Abietinae.     

Reappraisal of the ill-defined Liassic pteridosperm Dichopteris using an ultrastructural approach

This review of the genus Dichopteris De Zigno is based on the original fossil specimens collected from the Lower Jurassic of the Grey Limestones of Veneto (Northern Italy). The cuticular diagnosis of the genus is emended and only Dichopteris visianica De Zigno is retained within the genus. In addition, transverse and longitudinal sections of cuticles examined using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicate close similarities between D. visianica and other pteridosperm cuticles, especially the occurrence of granules arranged in areas of different densities in the epidermal cells and stomatal apparatus. Moreover, the dichotomy and the impressive size of the frond of D. visianica imply a specific architecture with a typical arrangement of the pinnae and pinnules. They preclude an herbaceous habit for the plant. Finally, architectural, microstructural and ultrastructural observations are consistent with palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data, and most probably support an understorey habit for D. visianica .  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 149 , 313–332.     

Endemism in Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest: alternative hypotheses

Endemism in Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest: alternative hypotheseS. Evidence is presented which suggests that hypotheses presented by Kirkpatrick & Brown relating to endemic species in Tasmania are either invalid or of limited importance for woody rainforest species.
In their place three hypotheses are presented to account for the presence of endemic species in Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest on the basis of the fossil record and the distribution of species which are closely related to the endemics. The first two hypotheses relate to the presence of the endemic species in the general Tasmanian region. They are:

• 1. 

  Some species evolved in southeastern Australia during the Tertiary in response to the changing climate. Some of the ancestral species still occur in temperate rainforest at lower latitudes in Australia.
• 2. 

  Some species have remained essentially unchanged in Tasmania during the Tertiary and Quaternary climatic changes.

The third hypothesis relates to the restriction of these cool temperate rainforest species to Tasmania:

• 1. 

  Post-glacial climatic changes (especially a decrease in rainfall) and the human influence (especially land clearing and fire) may have combined to eliminate some cool temperate rainforest species from mainland Australia.

     

An Early Miocene Plant Assemblage Severely Influenced By A Volcanic Eruption, Styria, Austria

Sediment and organic facies as well as leaves, pollen, and diaspores co-occurring in a tuffite exposed in Oberdorf (Ko¨flach/Voitsberg lignite area, Styria, Austria) were investigated. The tuffite is distinguishable from the under- and overlying clastic sediments and shows locally normally-graded lapilli, which is assumed to be a sign of direct airfall. The plant assemblage partly resulted from a volcanic eruption that coincided with the season in which many woody plants were flowering; deciduous ones were leafless or in the state of opening their buds; diaspores were not yet developed. Leaves of evergreen woody species, buds/bud scales, and clusters of immature pollen partly with adhering anther material were stripped off their parent plants and quickly embedded in the tuffite. The leaves of deciduous taxa and herbaceous monocotyledons, diaspores, partly also pollen, and organic facies components indicate progressive degradation. Such degraded plant debris probably accumulated in the backswamp sediments prior to the volcanic eruption. The tephra can only be correlated to the 'Lower Rhyolite Tuffs' in the Pannonian Basin (Hungary), indicating a (Late) Eggenburgian/Early Ottnangian age. The new species Ternstroemites waltheri is described. Distylium fergusonii Knobloch and Kvaček and Laurophyllum rugatum Kvaček and Bůžek are first reports from Austria.     

Under the shadow of a big plane tree: Why Platanus orientalis should be considered an archaeophyte in Italy

In Italy, Platanus orientalis L. is judged as an endangered species by some authors and non-native by others: these contrasting assessments can mislead the prioritization of management actions to preserve the species and the riparian vegetation that is its host. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, including palaeobotanical and ecological information, we assessed its status in Italy including the ecological and conservation value of the riparian plant communities hosting it in the Cilento National Park (S-Italy). Palaeobotanical data showed that P. orientalis in Italy should be considered an archaeophyte. According to the ecological assessment of the riparian plant communities hosting P. orientalis, the presence of the species can be interpreted as an indicator of an unfavourable state for the conservation of riparian vegetation. Knowing the status of a species remains one of the first steps to take to correctly propose scientifically based solutions for the conservation of plant diversity. However, there are no absolute criteria for conservation because all conservation objectives can be considered as cultural values. In this context, P. orientalis should be protected as a symbolic tree, an archaeophyte testifying an ancient common Mediterranean cultural heritage, worthy of preservation but outside of natural habitats.     

Plant survival in Iceland during periods of glaciation?

Aim The paper addresses the classical question of possible plant survival in Iceland during the last glacial period in the light of a palaeobotanical record from northern Iceland, spanning the period 11,300–9000 BP , including the Younger Dryas stadial. We review the Late Cenozoic fossil plant record, the past debate on glacial plant refugia in Iceland, and the evidence for ice-free areas during the Weichselian. Location The investigated lake sediment record comes from Lake Torfadalsvatn, which is situated in the northwestern part of the Skagi peninsula in northern Iceland. Methods The sediment chronology was constructed from the cccurrence of the Vedde Ash and the Saksunarvatn ash, two well-dated Icelandic tephras, together with the results from five AMS and conventional radiocarbon dates performed on bulk sediment samples. The vegetational reconstruction was based on detailed pollen analysis of the sediment sequence. Results The pollen analysis revealed that many of the taxa present in the area prior to the Younger Dryas stadial continued to produce pollen during that cold event. The more or less immediate reappearance of a few other pollen taxa at the Younger Dryas-Preboreal boundary suggests that these plants also survived, even if they did not produce sufficient pollen to be recorded during the Younger Dryas stadial. Main conclusions We conclude that the relatively high plant diversity found in high Arctic areas and present-day nunataks in Iceland and Greenland, together with the fact that many plant species were able to survive the Younger Dryas stadial on the Skagi peninsula, suggest that species with high tolerance for climate fluctuations also survived the whole Weichselian in Iceland. This conclusion is supported by recent palaeoclimatic data from ice-cores and deep-sea sediments, indicating that Icelandic climate during the last glacial was only occasionally slightly colder than during the Younger Dryas stadial.     

Epidermal micromorphology in Dioon: did volcanism constrain Dioon evolution?

The genus Dioon occupies an important phylogenetic position as sister to the other Zamiaceae. However, its epidermal morphology is still poorly known. We employed scanning and transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy and light microscopy to examine the epidermal and cuticular morphology of 12 of the 14 currently recognized species of Dioon, examining cultivated plants and herbarium specimens. Epidermal characters separate Dioon quite clearly from the other genera of the cycads. Within the genus, the major subgroups can be distinguished by their epidermal morphology. Some characters, such as the degree of stomatal protection, reflect ecological specializations in species within the subgroups. Several epidermal characters of the crown group Dioon seem to be absent in the Cenozoic fossils usually associated with the genus, which have been used as calibrations in many recent molecular dating analyses. The presence of similar characters in a Mesozoic fossil adapted to volcanic stress offers a new key in the interpretation of Dioon evolution. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 179 , 236–254.     

Latest Albian–earliest Cenomanian monocotyledonous leaves from Australia

Two forms of monocotyledon macrofossil are documented from latest Albian-earliest Cenomanian sediments of the Eromanga Basin, central Queensland, Australia. One form is preserved as strap-shaped leaves with cross-linked parallel venation and epidermal features characteristic of monocots. Its affinities are suggested to be with the Areciflorae and it dominated a community lying between a coastal coal swamp and open marine conditions. A second form is found only as thin, dispersed cuticle, with poor detail, but is most likely also a monocot. It dominated a more inland community. These appear to be the currently known, oldest, organically preserved monocotyledonous macrofossils.     

Permanent dyads in sporangia and spore masses from the Lower Devonian of the Welsh Borderland

Dyads, interpreted as cryptospore permanent dyads, are reported from sporangia and spore masses recovered from fluviatile deposits of Lochkovian (Early Devonian) age from the Welsh Borderland. The morphology, anatomy and ultrastructure of the specimens have been analysed using LM, SEM and TEM. Two specimens consist of a single sporangium terminating an axis: one is cup-shaped and attached to an unbranched axis and named Culullitheca richardsonii gen. et sp. nov., the other comprises an isotomously branching axis with one sporangium preserved and is named Fusitheca fanningiae gen. et sp. nov. Two specimens show dyads adhering to cuticular fragments presumably derived from sporangia. In one the cuticle is of irregular shape, in the other it is elliptical. The final specimen comprises an elongate spore mass. In all cases ultrastructural analysis reveals that the spore walls are essentially homogeneous. Our findings suggest that cryptospore permanent dyads were produced by rhyniophytoid plants of small stature. The affinities of these plants remain conjectural, as is the relationship of the cryptospore permanent dyads with other sporomorph morphotypes (cryptospores and trilete spores). However, the production of dyads by a plant with a bifurcating sporophytic axis is evidence against affinity with extant bryophytes. The mode of formation, adaptive significance, affinities, phylogenetic relationships and stratigraphical history (including demise) of cryptospore permanent dyads is discussed.     

Expected trends and surprises in the Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Recent, high-resolution palaeoecological records are changing the traditional picture of post-glacial vegetation succession in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the influence of Lateglacial and Early Holocene climatic changes, other factors are critical in the course of vegetation development and we observe strong regional differences. The floristic composition, location and structure of glacial tree populations and communities may have been primary causes of vegetation development. Refugial populations in the Baetic cordilleras would have been a source, but not the only one, for the early Lateglacial oak expansions. From Mid to Late Holocene, inertial, resilient, and rapid responses of vegetation to climatic change are described, and regional differences in the response are stressed. The role of fire, pastoralism, agriculture, and other anthropogenic disturbances (such as mining), during the Copper, Bronze, Iberian, and Roman times, is analysed. The implications of ecological transitions in cultural changes, especially when they occur as societal collapses, are discussed.     

孢子花粉与植物大化石:地质记录的差异及其古植物学意义

分散孢粉与植物大化石地质记录的不一致是常见现象,基本上是受孢粉的高产量及其外壁的较强抗腐蚀性,以及沉积环境的影响所致。主要根据我国古、中生代孢粉及植物化石资料,举例说明其地质记录的差异和其导致的不同解析和结论,及其古植物学意义。涉及的问题包括：1．新疆北部石炭二叠纪和塔里木盆地二叠纪的植物区系性质,2．我国古、中生代的主要成煤植物,3．古植代／中植代界线和植物在二叠纪末有无群体灭绝,4．某些植物类群的最早化石记录或起源,5．某些地层的地质时代问题。本文对此等问题提出的与古植物学家不甚一致的结论,如塔里木自早二叠世已属亚安加拉区,我国古、中生代主要成煤植物是真蕨类尤其是树蕨,而非鳞木类、科达类,或中生代裸子植物;如果将盾籽类作为中植代植物,则古植代／中植代界线在亚安加拉区要下降到Bashkirian之内或Bashkirian—Moscovian之交,等等,是否正确,有待检验。