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The structure and diversity of the liana and hemiepiphyte community were examined in the lowland forest of the Estación Biológica Paujil at the Parque Nacional Yanachaga-Chemillén and the Comunidad Nativa Yanesha Buenos Aires in the Oxapampa province of Pasco - Perú. Lianas and hemiepiphytes with DBH ± 0.5 cm were sampled in three 2 x 500m plots, placed randomly in both sites. The hemiepiphyte Philodendron sp.1 was the most structurally important climber at E.B. Paujil, due to its high density, frequency and length values. Philodendron ernestii Engl. played a similar role in Buenos Aires, having the highest density and frequency. Bignoniaceae, Fabaceae and Menispermaceae were the predominant families at both sites, which is expected for this forest type. Araceae was also an important family, above all at the E.B. Paujil. The value of the Fisher α Index revealed a higher diversity at both of the present study sites in comparison to that observed at other Neotropical sites of the same forest type. This result may be due to the elevated annual rainfall at the study sites, which may demonstrate the important contribution made by environmental factors on the climbing plant community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of the Study: The fossil record is critical for testing biogeographic hypotheses. Menispermaceae (moonseeds) are a widespread family with a rich fossil record and alternative hypotheses related to their origin and diversification. The family is well-represented in Cenozoic deposits of the northern hemisphere, but the record in the southern hemisphere is sparse. Filling in the southern record of moonseeds will improve our ability to evaluate alternative biogeographic hypotheses., Methods: Fossils were collected from the Salamanca (early Paleocene, Danian) and the Huitrera (early Eocene, Ypresian) formations in Chubut Province, Argentina. We photographed them using light microscopy, epifluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy and compared the fossils with similar extant and fossil Menispermaceae using herbarium specimens and published literature., Key Results: We describe fossil leaves and endocarps attributed to Menispermaceae from Argentinean Patagonia. The leaves are identified to the family, and the endocarps are further identified to the tribe Cissampelideae. The Salamancan endocarp is assigned to the extant genus Stephania. These fossils significantly expand the known range of Menispermaceae in South America, and they include the oldest (ca. 64 Ma) unequivocal evidence of the family worldwide., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of West Gondwana in the evolution of Menispermaceae during the Paleogene. Currently, the fossil record does not discern between a Laurasian or Gondwanan origin; however, it does demonstrate that Menispermaceae grew well outside the tropics by the early Paleocene. The endocarps' affinity with Cissampelideae suggests that diversification of the family was well underway by the earliest Paleocene., (© 2018 The Authors. American Journal of Botany is published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the Botanical Society of America.)