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Extant Asplenium is one of the most widespread fern groups and occurs in the temperate and tropical regions. However, the fossil records of this genus are poorly documented, especially in the low latitudes. Here, a new species, Asplenium sanshuiense sp. nov. is described from the early Eocene of Sanshui Basin, Guangdong Province, South China. This is the lowest modern latitude fossil record of Asplenium and the first fossil assignment of A. section Darea (Jussieu) Bak., as well as the first fossil record of Asplenium reported from South China. This new species shows that Asplenium had already spread into South China by the early Eocene and the section Darea (Jussieu) Bak. was identifiable within the genus Asplenium during that time. This new species, combined with previous fossil spore-pollen records indicates a warm and humid climate in the Sanshui Basin of the early Eocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machilus maomingensis Jin et Tang, sp. nov. from the Eocene Youganwo Formation of the Maoming Basin, South China, is studied in detail from the perspective of the leaf architecture and the excellently preserved cuticle. The leaf margin is entire, the primary venation is pinnate; 6 to 8 secondary veins are present and the major secondary venation is eucamptodromous. Stomata are paracytic and occur on the lower epidermis. Trichome bases are unicellular. Oil cells are present in the upper epidermis. The new fossil species described has features of the Lauraceae, particularly of the extant genus Machilus Rumphius ex Nees, and it is most similar to Machilus chinensis (Bentham) Hemsley, an extant species distributed in southern China and Vietnam. Hence, Machilus maomingensis sp. nov. is inferred to live in a warm and humid climate. The discovery of the present fossil indicates that Machilus has existed in South China from at least the Eocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huadu flora of Guangdong Province, South China contains the lepidodendrid Lepidodendron shanyangense Wu et He, its putative rhizophore Stigmaria cf. ficoides (Brongniart) Sternberg; sphenophyte s.l. Archaeocalamites scrobiculatus (Brongniart) Stur; bowmanitid Sphenophyllum tenerrimum (Ettingshausen) Stur; pteridophyll Sphenopteris sp. of uncertain taxonomic position; undetermined ferns gen. et sp. nov.; lyginopterid pteridosperm Rhodeopteridium hsianghsiangense (Sze) Zhang, Zhao et Wu, a trigonocarpoid pteridosperm represented by fronds and isolated pinnules of Paripteris gigantea (Sternberg) Gothan, male fructifications of Potoniea sp., and seeds of Trigonocarpus sp. Ecologically, the Early Carboniferous (Visean) Huadu vegetation was divided into two neighboring communities: (1) a near-shore hydrophilous 'community A' with predominating Archaeocalamites and Rhodeopteridium; and (2) a wet forest 'community B' with predominating shrubby trigonocarpalean pteridosperm Paripteris gigantea (Sternberg) Gothan and tall tree-like lepidodendrid Lepidodendron shanyangense Wu et He. The Huadu vegetation was physiognomically similar to present-day low-latitude mangrove forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]