Cryptocarya chinensis from the Upper Pleistocene of South China and its biogeographic and paleoecological implications.

Anatomical structure of mummified wood of Cryptocarya (Lauraceae) from the Upper Pleistocene of Maoming, South China and the woods of 15 extant species of Cryptocarya from China and Malaysia were examined. The fossil wood has been convincingly attributed to extant species Cryptocarya chinensis (Hance) Hemsl. This is the first reliable fossil record of Cryptocarya in Asia. The finding combined with the results of Biomod2 species distribution modeling suggest that the range of C. chinensis in the Late Pleistocene in South China and North Vietnam was very restricted due to increased continental aridity and enhanced temperature seasonality in this region. Thus, modern populations of C. chinensis in Maoming can be considered as glacial relicts. The mines (larval tunnels) produced by the larvae of flies from the genus Phytobia Lioy (Agromyzidae, Diptera) were observed in fossil wood under study. These cambial miners have never been reported in Cryptocarya.

Camellia nanningensis sp. nov.: the earliest fossil wood record of the genus Camellia (Theaceae) from East Asia.

A new species Camellia nanningensis was described on the basis of well-preserved mummified wood from the upper Oligocene Yongning Formation of Nanning Basin in Guangxi Province, South China. This represents the most ancient fossil wood assigned to Camellia, and the earliest fossil record of the family Theaceae in China. This fossil material shows that Camellia occurred in China as early as the late Oligocene, suggesting more ancient radiation of this genus than estimated by molecular dating.

[Study on fingerprint spectrum of Lonicera macranthoides by HPLC].

OBJECT: To establish the fingerprint spectrum of Lonicera macranthoides by HPLC. METHODS: The column of Hypersil gold C18 (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) was used. The mobile phase consisted of Acetonitril-0.05% phosphoric acid with gradient elution. The column temperature was 30 degrees C, the detective wavelength was 240 nm, and the flow rate was 0.5 ml/min. RESULTS: Fingerprint spectrum of Lonicera macranthoides was established, and 11 samples of different origin Lonicera macranthoides were detected. Ten peaks in the chromatogram were common by Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprints of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Version 2004 A). There was a high similarity and each chromatographic peak was obtained with good separation and correlation according to the technical requirements of fingerprint of Chinese traditional medicine. CONCLUSION: This method is accurate, reliable and provides a scientific basis for controlling the quality of Lonicera macranthoides.