A new monosulcate species, Shanbeipollenites lagarcitensis sp. nov. is described from the Lower Cretaceous Lagarcito Formation, Sierras de Guayaguas (north-western San Luis Basin), Argentina. Shanbeipollenites lagarcitensis shares with other species of this genus a broadly ellipsoidal outline and a diagonally disposed distal sulcus. However, the new species differs from the psilate type species Shanbeipollenites quadrangulatus and from S. quadratus by the presence of sculptural elements distributed at the equatorial region, close to the opposite ends of the sulcus. The thicker wall, exine separation, much more strongly diagonal offset of the sulcus and the rugulate-verrucate sculpture with an equatorial distribution close to the opposite ends of the sulcus, distinguish this new species and expands the concept of the genus Shanbeipollenites. The presence of two separate exine layers supports its gymnosperm affinity. Furthermore, the occurrence of Shanbeipollenites lagarcitensis in the Albian Lagarcito Formation from mid–latitudes, central–western Argentina constitutes the youngest record of the genus worldwide. This new record expands the biostratigraphical range of the taxon into the Albian.

Palynology is a relatively young science in China. It is accepted conventionally that the earliest papers are those by Jen Hsü, regarded as ‘the pioneer of palynology in China’, from 1950 onwards. This is clearly not so – geographer Su Ting (1913–2000) published an earlier paper on Chinese pollen grains in 1949, having included pollen-analytical research in a largely geomorphological doctoral thesis in 1937 – the first PhD by a Chinese citizen at the University of Glasgow. Caught-up in the civil war between Communist and Nationalist forces, Ting had left China for the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1949 and arrived in Los Angeles in 1957 where he termed himself William Su Ting. In Los Angeles he conducted palynological and other research, initially with Daniel Axelrod, eventually retiring as Professor of Geography from California State University in 1979. Ting maintained a long correspondence with Gunnar Erdtman which informs this account along with additional archival and family material. Although Ting was the first Chinese palynologist to work in mainland China, an added element is represented by the Japanese workers Misaburo Shimakura and Genkei Masamune, who performed pollen-analytical investigations in Mainland China and Taiwan respectively in the early 1940s, when this territory was under Japanese control. Ting's unpublished research on sites in Orkney and the Isle of Bute mark him as one of the UK's pioneer workers in palynology. His North American publications reflect a willingness to grapple with issues as diverse as Quaternary and pre-Quaternary palaeoecology, pollen morphology, microscopy and statistics.

This work documents the biostratigraphy of dinoflagellate cysts from the La Barca Formation at the Punta Ainol Locality, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina. The succession at Punta Ainol represents a new record for the Paleogene (late Paleocene–middle Eocene) from southern South America, based on current data on nannofossils and dinoflagellate cysts. Some significant events are in agreement with nannofossil data. In ascending stratigraphic order, they include the first occurrences (FOs) of Impagidinium crassimuratum, Apectodinium homomorphum, Pyxidiniopsis waipawaensis, Samlandia septata, Cleistosphaeridium diversispinosum, and Enneadocysta dictyostila, and the latest occurrence (LO) of Palaeocystodinium golzowense. Three Paleocene/Eocene dinoflagellate cyst zones (Palaeocystodinium golzowense, NZDP7 and Apectodinium homomorphum) are recognized here.

Lippia is the second largest genus in the family Verbenaceae, comprising about 100 species widely distributed in the Neotropics and some representatives in Africa. The genus is considered poorly delimited taxonomically because many species can only be distinguished by minor morphological differences, resulting in a large number of described taxa. This study aimed to examine and describe the pollen characters of Lippia sect. Rhodolippia and identify important pollen attributes for the delimitation of species occurring in Brazil. Multivariate analysis was used to investigate similarities between species and find diagnostic characters for taxonomic identification. Pollen grains of 16 species were acetolyzed, measured, described, illustrated using a light microscope (LM) and submitted to statistical treatments. For a more detailed examination of pollen surfaces and apertures, non-acetolyzed pollen grains were observed and micrographed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that species belonging to the section Rhodolippia have pollen grains that are prolate spheroidal or oblate spheroidal, 3-colporate (3-4-colporate in L. felippei) or 3-colpororate, mesoaperture present or absent, endoaperture lalongate, with ends bifurcated, tapered, rounded, H-shaped or truncated. The exine ornamentation is psilate-perforate in most species. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering identified two groups: 3-colporate and 3-colpororate pollen grains. Palynological analysis evidenced the eurypollinic character of the genus and resulted in the first description of mesoaperture and the type of ends of the endoaperture. These findings can provide taxonomic and phylogenetic support for future studies on Lippia.

The different geographical origins of Baltic, Bitterfeld and Ukrainian ambers may be reflected in differences in their preserved fungal spores and plant pollen. In this study, over 573 palynomorphs were isolated through solvent extraction and the differences in their morphological characteristics examined using conventional transmitted light microscopy to explore this hypothesis. The spore spectra in the Baltic, Bitterfeld and Ukrainian samples differed considerably whereas the pollen spectra differed only marginally. In the Ukrainian ambers, the isolated fungal spores were primarily basidiomycetes (mostly Coprinus s.l., Strophariaceae and similar taxa with thick-walled, melanised spores), indicative of a moist environment rich in decaying plant debris. The first amber-based evidence for Ilex was found in the Bitterfeld samples and for members of the Juglandaceae in those from the Baltic. Overall, the pollen spectra were consistent with earlier findings on Eocene-Oligocene vegetation and climate. The mixed forests of those geological epochs are the hallmark of a habitat containing multifaceted niches for animals and obviously fungi.

The upper Paleocene to lower Eocene Margaret Formation exposed at Stenkul Fiord on southern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, represents a nearly continuous terrestrial succession of microfossilrich clastic sediments and coal. These strata were deposited at a time of extensive tectonic activity associated with Eurekan deformation. The precise chronology of the Eurekan deformation is poorly known. Prior studies at Stenkul Fiord provided a stratigraphic overview and relative age estimates for exposed strata but lack the absolute age control required to investigate the timing of deformation events. Strata at Stenkul Fiord preserve evidence of Arctic forests that may have grown during hyperthermal events that characterized the Paleogene, namely, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2). A quantitative palynological approach is herein used to define a new higher-resolution biostratigraphic framework for the Margaret Formation strata at Stenkul Fiord. This resulting improved biostratigraphic framework is integrated with new absolute age control of 53.7±0.06Ma provided by U-Pb ID-TIMS of zircon preserved in an ash bed within the studied succession. Nine pollen zones are defined based on cluster analysis, NMDS ordination, first- and last occurrences of taxa, and angiosperm pollen taxa diversity (H ′). The presence of thermophilic pollen taxa at Stenkul Fiord provides evidence of climates related to the globally warm climates during the early Paleogene.

Little information about the contribution of plants to the production of honey by bees exists for southern Brazil. Information on this dynamic is crucial to maintaining the health of bees, the pollination of forests and assisting in the management of apiaries and meliponaries. The objective of the study was to elucidate which plants the bees visit for the production of honey in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil. 43 honey samples were selected from Apis mellifera, Tetragonisca angustula, Melipona quadrifasciata, Scaptotrigona bipunctata, Plebeia remota and Plebeia droryana. The honey samples were submitted to acetolysis. 110 pollen types were found in all honey samples from bees of Apis mellifera (97 pollen types), Melipona quadrifasciata quadrifasciata (14 pollen types), Tetragonisca angustula (46 pollen types), Scaptotrigona bipunctata (8 pollen types), Plebeia remota (17 pollen types) and Plebeia droryana (8 pollen types). The high pollen percentage of tree species in the samples stands out, ranging from 16.8% to 99.8%. The samples were grouped into seven groups by CONISS, called Melis-1, Melis-2, Melis-3, Melis-4, Melis-5, Melis-6 and Melis 7, and these are related to the floral resources of the studied bees. Some pollen types showed high percentages in honeys from Apis mellifera (pollen types of Eucalyptus sp. Myrcia type, Casearia sylvestris, Hovenia dulcis, Mimosa scabrella, Lamanonia ternata, Clethra scabra, Baccharis type and Weinmannia paulliniifolia), Tetragonisca angustula (pollen types of Eryngium sp./Petroselinum crispum, Handroanthus sp., Sorocea bonplandii and Parapiptadenia rigida), Melipona quadrifasciata quadrifasciata (pollen types of Myrcia type, Eucalyptus sp. and Mimosa bimucronata), Scaptotrigona bipunctata (pollen types of Allophylus edulis, Butia type and Parapiptadenia rigida), Plebeia remota (pollen types of Myrcia type, Butia type and Sebastiania sp.) and Plebeia droryana (pollen types of Myrcia type). The different types of vegetation in RS accounts for the different pollen spectra in honeys from southern Brazil.

Cyclonephelium brevireticulatum is a new organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst described from the upper Maastrichtian Arkadelphia Formation, Hot Spring County, Arkansas, USA. Cyclonephelium brevireticulatum sp. nov. is distinguished from other species of this genus by its small size, and by processes of very low relief (<5 µm) which connect linearly to form a chain or mesh-like micro-reticulation along the outer margin of the cyst. The study site is an outcrop of the Arkadelphia Formation which is exposed along the Ouachita River during low water conditions. Cyclonephelium brevireticulatum is a common taxon at this site and co-occurs with late Maastrichtian dinoflagellate cysts including Dinogymnium spp., Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis , Trithyrodinium evittii , Deflandrea galeata () , Pierceites pentagonus () , Palynodinium grallator , along with rare occurrences of Manumiella spp. and the latest early Maastrichtian taxon Alterbidinium acutulum () . Specimens of the late Maastrichtian pollen, Rugubivesiculites spp., have also been recorded throughout the section. Although the uppermost geologic range of the new species appears to conform to the lower part of the Discoscaphites iris ammonite zone which correlates with calcareous nannofossil zone CC26b, the ammonite occurrences are too scarce to be certain at this time.

The Blechnaceae is a family of leptosporangiate ferns with a wide geographical distribution. Recent phylogenies revealed several lineages within the family, culminating in a classification system comprising 25 recognized genera grouped into three subfamilies. Spore surface morphology has major importance in the taxonomy of the group, but there is limited information on the relevance of other palynological characters. This study aimed to examine whether spore morphology aids in distinguishing genera of Blechnaceae according to the current phylogenetic classification. Spores from 28 species distributed in 12 genera of the subfamilies Blechnoideae, Stenochlaenoideae, and Woodwardioideae were examined. Specimens were acetolyzed, measured, described, and illustrated using light and scanning electron microscopy. The analyzed spores were medium to large in size, with a monolete scar of varied size, straight, and without margo. The perine was three-layered, except in the subfamily Stenochlaenoideae, which showed a single-layered perine. Blechnoideae was the most palynologically diverse subfamily. Woodwardioideae and Stenochlaenoideae spore characters had high diagnostic value for identification at the genus level. Austroblechnum and Blechnum showed high similarity; no single spore character could be used to discriminate between species of these genera. Blechnum anthracinum was the only species within its genus to exhibit cristate spores, with filaments and perforations. Morphometric analysis did not prove to be a useful tool for differentiating subfamilies or genera, possibly because of the influence of polyploid individuals. This investigation revealed unique spore characters for some genera and provided morphological descriptions that allow identification at the species level, contributing to the taxonomic study of Blechnaceae.

Deidamioides, one of the four subgenera proposed for the genus Passiflora, is distributed in South and Central America, with its species, until now having been grouped in five sections: Deidamioides, Mayapathanthus, Tryphostemmatoides, Polyanthea and Tetrastylis. Within the current delimitation, subg. Deidamioides is not clearly defined and has a very controversial taxonomic history. The taxonomic complexity of this subgenus has been discussed by some phylogenetic studies attempting to clarify its monophyletic status and the positioning of species within its sections. The main objective of the present study was to analyze the pollen grains of species of subg. Deidamioides with the aim of finding diagnostic characters that can corroborate the taxonomic positioning of its sections and species. Polliniferous material was acetolyzed, measured and described using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Four pollen types and two subtypes were established for the analyzed species based on apertural characteristics: Pollen Type I (Subtype I.1. Passiflora contracta, P. igrapiunensis and P. timboënsis; Subtype I.2. P. cirrhiflora, P. macdougaliana, P. tryphostemmatoides and P. ovalis); Pollen Type II (P. obovata); Pollen Type III (P. arbelaezii and P. gracillima); and Pollen Type IV (P. deidamioides). The results confirm recent proposals that subg. Deidamioides is polyphyletic, and that it possesses apertural characteristics similar to those of subgenera Astrophea, Decaloba and Passiflora.

The pollen morphology of 63 species, one subspecies and six varieties of 11 genera in the family Liliaceae was studied in detail using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Among them, 22 species and one variety are reported for the first time. Ten pollen characteristics (shape in polar view, ends in polar view, width of colpus, depth of colpus, length of colpus, colpus costa, colpus membranes, type of surface ornamentation, muri, lumina) were selected for cluster analysis of the genera Gagea and Lloydia and for cluster analysis and principal component analysis of the genera Lilium and Nomocharis. The results show that the polar view, colpus morphology and surface ornamentation of pollen grains have important systematic significance. The surface ornamentation of pollen grains in this study can be divided into five types, namely gemmate, reticulate, rugulate, rugulate-perforate and verrucate. In combination with the results of previous research, our results suggest that (i) Clintonia and Streptopus should be included in the family Liliaceae; (ii) Fritillaria and Lilium should be considered independent genera; (iii) Lloydia should belong to Gagea; and (iv) Nomocharis should be merged into Lilium. But our results do not support dividing Lilium into seven sections.