SMILAX (SMILACACEAE) FROM THE MIOCENE OF WESTERN EURASIA WITH CARIBBEAN BIOGEOGRAPHIC AFFINITIES

Abstract

Premise of the study: Recent molecular studies provide a phylogenetic framework and some dated nodes for the monocot genus Smilax. The Caribbean Havanensis group of Smilax is part of a well-supported "New World clade" with a few disjunct taxa in the Old World. Although the fossil record of the genus is rich, it has been difficult to assign fossil taxa to extant groups based on their preserved morphological characters.