Gone with the bird: late Tertiary and Quaternary intercontinental long-distance dispersal and allopolyploidization in plants

Abstract

Altopolyploidy and tong-distance dispersal, respectively, are regarded as prominent factors in plant evolution and biogeography. Here we review the rare cases of prehistorical (not man-mediated) intercontinental long-distance dispersal of plants combined with allopolyploidy. All examples given indicate a late Tertiary/Quaternary evolution of the polyploid lineages in the newly colonized continent. Late Tertiary, and especially Quaternary climatic fluctuations affected all parts of the world and these changes might have created novel habitats providing new niches for speciation. Since the onset of bird migration, birds seem to be effective vectors to transport seeds across the oceans.