Evolution of Menispermaceae

Abstract

The polarity of character states of pollen, leaf, endocarp, seed, perianth, androecium, and gynoecium within the Menispermaceae is established on the basis of maximum correlation of characters. Instances of parallel evolution are explained. The origin and spread of the different genera, which manifest the various combinations of character states, are analysed in the light of the position of the continents during the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. Menispermaceae seem to have originated in the lowlands of Africa during the Cretaceous when South America, Africa, Madagascar, and India were close to one another. Consequent to the continental drift each land mass might have carried with it some elements of the primitive Menispermaceae which must have eventually given rise to the neoendemics. The Sino–Japanese spread of this family seems to have been post-Himalayan. "Malesia" appears to be a secondary centre of diversification of taxa derived from India. Cissampelos, Cocculus, and Stephania seem to have originated in India and entered Africa during the Miocene. The Eocene endocarps of North America show affinity with those of the London Clay, which in turn were probably derived from the African stock. Among the extant species of North America only Calycocarpum lyonii seems to be the relic of the North American Tertiary flora and the rest appear to have been derived from east Asia.

Leaf anatomy of the Menispermaceae tribe Tiliacoreae Miers

“…It is important to bear in mind that the Menispermaceae has quite a long fossil history (Forman, 1986;Thanikaimoni, 1984Thanikaimoni, , 1986 with certain and abundant records from the Lower Eocene and probable records from at least the Upper Cretaceous. This means that the Menispermaceae has been in existence for at least 65 million years.…”

Phytogeographic implications of fossil endocarps of Menispermaceae from the Paleocene of Colombia

“…Fully mature endocarps and drupes were measured with calipers; the average size was recorded when multiple specimens were examined. These studies were supplemented by consideration of published images and descriptions (e.g., Thanikaimoni, 1986; Jacques, 2009a). Terminology for the description of fruits partly follows Jacques (2009a).…”

“…Fossil locations and geographic distribution of three extant genera in Menispermaceae that are related to the Paleocene endocarps. Modern distribution based on literature (e.g., Thanikaimoni, 1986) and biodiversity occurrence data accessed through GBIF Data Portal, data.gbif.org, 2010‐10‐15. Base map courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.…”

Endocarps of menispermaceous plants in Taiwan

“…The endocarp dimensions were measured using Image-J software (Ferreira and Rasband 2011), and if multiple specimens were examined, the average size was recorded. Furthermore, data were supplemented with available images and descriptions from other published studies (Thanikaimoni 1986; Ortiz et al 2007; Jacques 2009a; Liu Jacques 2010; Herrera et al 2011; Wefferling et al 2013; Ortiz and Nee 2014). The terminology for the description of the endocarps partly follows Jacques (2009a), and a complete definition of endocarp characters can be found in Appendix 2.…”