Pollen evidence for Late Cretaceous differentiation of Proteaceae in southern polar forests

Sclerophyllous Adenanthos and Stirlingia (Proteoideae) are now restricted to the S Australian Mediterranean climatic region: Persoonia (Persoonioideae) ranges into higher rainfall areas of E and N Australia. Grevillea exul-Grevillea robusta and Telopea (Grevilleoideae) and Carnarvonia (Carnarvonioideae) occur in or at the fringe of rain forests in E Australasia, as do other members (Macadamia, Gevuina-Hicksbeachia, Knightia, Beauprea) reported previously. Pollen evidence confirms evolution of both rain forest and sclerophyll members of the Campanian-Maastrichtian. Turnover of proteaceous pollen taxa near the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary may reflect contemporaneous modifications to the proteaceous communities. Associated with the Late Cretaceous Proteaceae were diverse conifers (Microcachrys, Lagarostrobus, Podocarpus, Dacrydium, Dacrycarpus and Araucariaceae), Nothofagus, Ilex, Gunnera, Ascarina, Winteraceae, Trimeniaceae, and probable Epacridaceae. The vegetation, which fringed a narrow estuary separating Antarctica from southern Australia, implies a mosaic of rain forest and sclerophyll communities but has no modern analogue. -from Author