Summary• Gnetum (Gnetales) species are suggested to be unique extant gymnosperms that have acquired high photosynthetic and transpiration capacities as well as greater xylem hydraulic capacity and efficiency compared with all other extant gymnosperms. This is because Gnetum is the only extant gymnosperm lineage that combines vessels, broad pinnate-veined leaves and an ecological distribution in wet, productive lowland tropical rainforest habitats. Yet, field-based observations on the group's ecophysiological performance are lacking.• To test a hypothesis that Gnetum species are ecophysiologically analogous to light-demanding woody tropical angiosperms, stem xylem hydraulic performance, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were investigated in Gnetum as compared with a diverse group of co-occurring woody plants in a lowland tropical rainforest.• It was found that Gnetum species combined low photosynthetic capacity and low stomatal conductances with a low stem water transport ability. The physiological observations are consistent with the general occurrence of Gnetum species in shady, primary forest habitats.• These results on Gnetum ecophysiology indicate that the coupling of vessels, broad pinnate-veined leaves and the liana habit do not signal the evolution of a highly opportunistic, light-demanding life history in gymnosperms.

No abstract

No abstract

Summary• The lack of extant lianescent vessel-less seed plants supports a hypothesis that liana evolution requires large-diameter xylem conduits. Here, we demonstrate an unusual example of a lianoid vessel-less angiosperm, Tasmannia cordata (Winteraceae), from New Guinea.• Wood mechanical, hydraulic and structural measurements were used to determine how T. cordata climbs and to test for ecophysiological shifts related to liana evolution vs 13 freestanding congeners.• The tracheid-based wood of T. cordata furnished low hydraulic capacity compared with that of vessel-bearing lianas. In comparison with most nonclimbing relatives, T. cordata possessed lower photosynthetic rates and leaf and stem hydraulic capacities. However, T. cordata exhibited a two-to five-fold greater wood elastic modulus than its relatives.• Tasmannia cordata provides an unusual example of angiosperm liana evolution uncoupled from xylem conduit gigantism, as well as high plasticity and cell type diversity in vascular development. Because T. cordata lacks vessels, our results suggest that a key limitation for a vessel-less liana is that strong and low hydraulically conductive wood is required to meet the mechanical demands of lianescence.