Pliocene fossil woods from an early hominid cave deposit, Sterkfontein, South Africa

Fossil woods found in the Australopithecus deposits at Sterkfontein Caves, Gauteng, South Africa, are described. The sediments are dated at 2.6-2.8 mi llion years. The woods have been identified as the liana Dichapetalum cf. m ombuttense and the shrub, Anastrabe integerrima. Today there is only one sp ecies of Dichapetalum, D. cymosum, in South Africa, so the presence of this typically central African gallery forest liana is evidence that at least r efugia of dense, humid forest-type vegetation occurred at Sterkfontein duri ng the Pliocene. Anastrabe integerrima grows today on forest margins along and inland from the east and southeast coasts of South Africa. The presence of this plant in the fossil record implies that rainfall was higher during the Pliocene and that gallery forest occurred in an area where today grass lands predominate. Rarely are fossil hominids and plants found together, so this deposit has potential for palaeoclimatic reconstructions.