Subtropical evergreen forests left room for Mediterranean sclerophyllous communities, and finally to Artemisia steppes which alternated with mesophilous forests during glacial-interglacial cycles. The South Mediterranean plant ecosystems contrasted with open subdesertic associations where Avicennia persisted up to the early Pliocene before the steppes invaded the lowlands. Neogene climate changes benefited the Mediterranean sclerophyllous plants that were already present in the early Miocene. Their subsequent fluctuations relate not only to temperature variations but maybe also to phases with high instability in seasonality and low variability in warmth. When present, Microtropis fallax is a serious candidate for identifying the primary Mediterranean sclerophyllous assemblages. Interpretation and climate quantification of the pollen data show a well-marked latitudinal contrast in the Mediterranean area both in temperature and humidity/dryness. The thermic latitudinal gradient is characterized

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