Land flora. Geography of the flowering plants

1969 ◽  
Vol 255 (800) ◽  
pp. 549-566 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Plant Evolution ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
The Past ◽  
Neighbouring Island ◽  
The Tropics

The phanerogam flora of the Solomon Islands resembles that of Malesia, but has fewer families, genera and species. A number of lines of evidence indicate that it is not a recent, immigrant flora, and has not arrived by long-distance dispersal. The implication to be drawn from phanerogam distributions in Melanesia is that there have been stronger land connexions within the region and with Malesia in the past. The poverty of the Solomons flora is partly explicable by incomplete immigration from Malesia. There is also evidence for chance extinctions within the Group such as could follow from the continually changing land-sea boundaries. In its present form with a uniform flora with few local endemics, yet disjunctions to neighbouring island groups, the archipelago may well represent a ‘land-bridge’. Surprisingly there is no evidence of extensive species radiation in the Solomons despite gross geological viscissitudes; this is contrary to expectations based on temperate floras and suggests that flowering plant evolution in the tropics may be very slow. Further knowledge of the dates of land-sea changes in Melanesia should allow a time-scale to be set on the evolution of individual species.

Floristics of the South American Páramo Moss Flora

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
Dana Griffin III
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
South American ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
The South ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Late Pliocene ◽  
Northern Andes ◽  
The Past

The South American paramos appeared in Pliocene times and persist to the present day. The moss flora of this habitat consists of an estimated 400 species that comprise 8 floristic groups. In Venezuela these groups and their percent representation are as follows: neotropical 37%, Andean 26%, cosmopolitan 18%, Andean-African 8%, neotropical-Asiatic 3%, neotropical-Australasian 2%, temperate Southern Hemisphere 2% and northern boreal-temperate 2%. Acrocarpous taxa outnumber pleurocarps by nearly 3:1. The neotropical and Andean floristic stocks likely were present prior to late Pliocene orogenies that elevated the cordillera above climatic timberlines. These species may have existed in open, marshy areas (paramillos) or may have evolved from cloud forest ancestors. Taxa of northern boreal- temperate affinities, including those with Asiatic distributions, probably arrived in the paramos during the Pleistocene, a period which may also have seen the establishment in the Northern Andes of some cosmopolitan elements. Species with temperate Southern Hemisphere and Australasian affinities likely spread first to austral South America thence migrated northward during a cool, moist interval sometime over the past 2.5-3 million years or may have become established in the paramos as a result of long- distance dispersal.

scholarly journals Leaps and bounds: geographical and ecological distance constrained the colonisation of the Afrotemperate by Erica

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Pirie ◽  
Martha Kandziora ◽  
Nicolai M. Nürk ◽  
Nicholas C. Le Maitre ◽  
Ana Mugrabi de Kuppler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Evolutionary Radiation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ecological Suitability ◽  
Ecological Distance ◽  
Source And Sink

Abstract Background The coincidence of long distance dispersal (LDD) and biome shift is assumed to be the result of a multifaceted interplay between geographical distance and ecological suitability of source and sink areas. Here, we test the influence of these factors on the dispersal history of the flowering plant genus Erica (Ericaceae) across the Afrotemperate. We quantify similarity of Erica climate niches per biogeographic area using direct observations of species, and test various colonisation scenarios while estimating ancestral areas for the Erica clade using parametric biogeographic model testing. Results We infer that the overall dispersal history of Erica across the Afrotemperate is the result of infrequent colonisation limited by geographic proximity and niche similarity. However, the Drakensberg Mountains represent a colonisation sink, rather than acting as a “stepping stone” between more distant and ecologically dissimilar Cape and Tropical African regions. Strikingly, the most dramatic examples of species radiations in Erica were the result of single unique dispersals over longer distances between ecologically dissimilar areas, contradicting the rule of phylogenetic biome conservatism. Conclusions These results highlight the roles of geographical and ecological distance in limiting LDD, but also the importance of rare biome shifts, in which a unique dispersal event fuels evolutionary radiation.

scholarly journals Stenogrammitis myosuroides (Polypodiaceae): a new addition to the European flora from southwest Ireland

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory Hodd ◽  
Fred Rumsey
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Disjunct Distribution ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Spore Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
First Time

The occurrence of the fern Stenogrammitis myosuroides (Sw.) Labiak in Europe is reported for the first time. A small population was discovered on two boulders beside a stream in Atlantic oak woodland in the Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, in southwest Ireland. The main identification features of this taxa and features that distinguish it from other similar taxa are laid out and discussed. S. myosuroides is elsewhere known to occur in the Neotropics, in Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, and is thought to have colonised its Irish site through long-distance spore dispersal. Two Grammitid species of similar ecology have been discovered in the Azores in the past five decades and a number of bryophyte species share a similar disjunct distribution between Ireland and the Neotropics, all of which supports the theory that long-distance dispersal is the most plausible explanation for the occurrence of S. myosuroides in Ireland. It is not clear how long S. myosuroides has been present in Ireland, although morphological differences suggest that it may have been separated from the Neotropical populations for a long period. However, molecular analysis is required to elucidate this.

Land bridge and long-distance dispersal—Old views, new evidence

2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 1030-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhekun Zhou ◽  
Xuefei Yang ◽  
Qingsong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
New Evidence

scholarly journals Leaps and bounds: geographical and ecological distance constrained the colonisation of the Afrotemperate by Erica

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.D. Pirie ◽  
M. Kandziora ◽  
N.M. Nürk ◽  
N.C. Le Maitre ◽  
A. Mugrabi de Kuppler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Evolutionary Radiation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ecological Suitability ◽  
Ecological Distance ◽  
Source And Sink

AbstractThe coincidence of long distance dispersal and biome shift is assumed to be the result of a multifaceted interplay between geographical distance and ecological suitability of source and sink areas. Here, we test the influence of these factors on the dispersal history of the flowering plant genus Erica (Ericaceae) across the Afrotemperate. We quantify similarity of Erica climate niches per biogeographic area using direct observations of species, and test various colonisation scenarios while estimating ancestral areas for the Erica clade using parametric biogeographic model testing. We infer that the overall dispersal history of Erica across the Afrotemperate is the result of infrequent colonisation limited by geographic proximity and niche similarity. However, the Drakensberg Mountains represent a colonisation sink, rather than acting as a “stepping stone” between more distant and ecologically dissimilar Cape and Tropical African regions. Strikingly, the most dramatic examples of species radiations in Erica were the result of single unique dispersals over longer distances between ecologically dissimilar areas, contradicting the rule of phylogenetic biome conservatism. These results highlight the importance of rare biome shifts, in which a unique dispersal event fuels evolutionary radiation.

scholarly journals Whence Came These Plants Most Foul? Phylogenomics and Biogeography of Lowiaceae (Zingiberales)

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti A. Niissalo ◽  
Elliot M. Gardner ◽  
Gillian S. Khew ◽  
Otakar Šída ◽  
Axel Dalberg Poulsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Biogeographic Patterns ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The Family

Lowiaceae (order Zingiberales) is a small family of forest herbs in Southeast Asia. All species belong to the genus Orchidantha. They are known for possessing orchid-like flowers that are smelly, apparently mimicking dead animals, feces, or mushrooms. Little is known of the biogeographic patterns or character evolution of the family. We sampled the family extensively, including many recently discovered species, and reconstructed the phylogeny of the family using HybSeq with Lowiaceae-specific RNA baits. Our phylogenetic reconstructions confirm that the family is most closely related to Strelitziaceae, and that species with dark, foul-smelling flowers form a grade in which a clade of species with paler flowers are embedded. The pale-flowered species produce a distinct odor, resembling edible mushrooms. Apart from a single species, the species from Borneo form a clade, and the same is true for Indochinese species. The remaining species form a more widespread clade. A biogeographic analysis shows that the distribution of Lowiaceae can explained by vicariance and gradual dispersal from a shared ancestral range of Borneo and Indochina. There is no evidence of long-distance dispersal, only a later extension in distribution to Peninsular Malaysia which coincides with the presence of a land bridge. Different directions of spread are possible, but none require long-distance dispersal. The results are consistent with the geological history of Southeast Asia. In particular, the relatively early isolation between Indochina and Borneo could be explained by the presence of a sea barrier that developed 10–15 MYA, and the continuous movement of plant species between Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia could be explained by a land bridge that existed until c. 5 MYA. The lack of an extensive land bridge with a suitable habitat may explain the absence of this genus from Sumatra and other Indonesian islands aside from Borneo. The strict reliance on a continuous habitat for the range expansion of Lowiaceae can be explained by their fruits and seeds, which lack obvious adaptations for long-distance dispersal. The inability to disperse to new areas may also explain why the extant species have very restricted distributions.

Systematics, Biogeography, and Morphological Character Evolution of the Hemiepiphytic Subfamily Monsteroideae (Araceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Zuluaga ◽  
Martin Llano ◽  
Ken Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
R Package ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Seed Shape ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Tropics

The subfamily Monsteroideae (Araceae) is the third richest clade in the family, with ca. 369 described species and ca. 700 estimated. It comprises mostly hemiepiphytic or epiphytic plants restricted to the tropics, with three intercontinental disjunctions. Using a dataset representing all 12 genera in Monsteroideae (126 taxa), and five plastid and two nuclear markers, we studied the systematics and historical biogeography of the group. We found high support for the monophyly of the three major clades (Spathiphylleae sister to Heteropsis Kunth and Rhaphidophora Hassk. clades), and for six of the genera within Monsteroideae. However, we found low rates of variation in the DNA sequences used and a lack of molecular markers suitable for species-level phylogenies in the group. We also performed ancestral state reconstruction of some morphological characters traditionally used for genera delimitation. Only seed shape and size, number of seeds, number of locules, and presence of endosperm showed utility in the classification of genera in Monsteroideae. We estimated ancestral ranges using a dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model as implemented in the R package BioGeoBEARS and found evidence for a Gondwanan origin of the clade. One tropical disjunction (Monstera Adans. sister to Amydrium Schott–Epipremnum Schott) was found to be the product of a previous Boreotropical distribution. Two other disjunctions are more recent and likely due to long-distance dispersal: Spathiphyllum Schott (with Holochlamys Engl. nested within) represents a dispersal from South America to the Pacific Islands in Southeast Asia, and Rhaphidophora represents a dispersal from Asia to Africa. Future studies based on stronger phylogenetic reconstructions and complete morphological datasets are needed to explore the details of speciation and migration within and among areas in Asia.

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