Cladoxylopsida

The cladoxylopsids are a group of plants known only as fossils that may be ancestors of ferns and horsetails.

Cladoxylopsida
Temporal range: Middle Devonian–early Carboniferous
Eospermatopteris erianus.jpg
Wattieza
Scientific classification e
Unrecognized taxon (fix): Pteridophyta/?
Class: Cladoxylopsida
Orders/Genera

Pseudosporochnales
Iridopteridales

Incertae sedis:

Bark (possibly from a cladoxylopsid) from the Middle Devonian of Wisconsin

They had a central trunk, from the top of which several lateral branches were attached. Fossils of these plants start in the middle Devonian to early Carboniferous periods, mostly just as stems.

Cladoxylopsida contains two orders. The order Hyeniales is now included in Pseudosporochnales.[1]

Intact fossils of the Middle Devonian cladoxylopsid Wattieza show it was a tree, the earliest known in the fossil record as of 2007. In 2019, experts discovered more fossils of Cladoxylopsida and Archaeopteris in a quarry in Cairo, New York.[2]

References

  1. Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, Michael Krings 2009. Paleobotany: the biology and evolution of fossil plants. 2nd ed. p. 387-401, 1028. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8
  2. Foster, Laura (Dec 19, 2019). "World's oldest fossil trees uncovered in New York". BBC News Online. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50840134. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019.