Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Australian Tertiary Phytogeography - Palynofloras - Eocene

Early Eocene

At this time there were many angiosperms among the diverse pollen found in the deposits from this time. Proteaceous types were abundant, whereas gymnosperms were less so, with Myrtaceae and Nothofagus comprising minor elements of the vegetation, as indicated by the pollen.

Middle Eocene

Pollen from this time hadn't changed much from the Early Eocene. There was a significant component of proteaceous type among a diverse angiosperm vegetation, and the frequency of Nothofagus had increased.

Late Eocene

By this time Nothofagus pollen was the dominant group, though the actual trees in the forest were probably not as common as the pollen would suggest, because Nothofagus is a prolific producer of pollen. It was more common than in Palaeocene to Early Eocene, though in tree numbers it was probably no more common than other taxa in the same forests that produced less pollen. Angiosperms were highly diverse in the Late Eocene, many having continued from the earlier times, though a large number of the older angiosperms had disappeared by the end of the Eocene.

Sources & Further reading

H.A. Martin in Hill, Robert S., (ed.), 1994, History of the Australian Vegetation, Cambridge University Press.