Pollen of Diporites aspis, corresponding to the extant genus Fuchsia, is reported from Late Oligocene to Early Miocene strata in two new localities in Australia. They extend the range of Diporites pollen in Australia from the Otway Basin in Victoria to the Capricorn Basin offshore Queensland, and they bring to six the number of Diporites specimens in Australia, from five different sites. These reports establish the presence of Fuchsia in Australasia from at least the Early Oligocene, when mesic forests were widespread across Australia. Fuchsia reached New Zealand by the Late Oligocene and has survived there until the present, but is not known to have survived in Australia past the late Miocene. These results support the hypothesis of an early Tertiary origin of the genus in southern temperate forests.

Corsinipol/enites epilobioides ~tzsch 1968 from late Oligocene Pomahaka Estuanne Bed sediments possesses morphological featu~es .that demonstrate a close similarity to extant Eptloblum. The occurrence of Epilobium in New Zealand ~t this time indicates that a previous hypothesIs regarding the paleobiogeography of the genus n~eds to be reconsidered. Whether the apparent EPllobium present in the late Oligocene of New Zealand gave rise to any of the modem species is not known.