Diaphorodendraceae
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| Diaphorodendraceae | ||||||||||||
| DiMichele & Bateman |
The Diaphorodendraceae are a family of extinct bear moss plants , predominantly tree-shaped, that formed the coal swamps in the Carboniferous . Their representatives are also called shed trees.
features
The distinguishing features ( synapomorphies ) that distinguish the Diaphorodendraceae from the other families are a protostele with a parenchymatic core; Parenchymal cells, which are formed independently of the Pro tracheids and thus form a real marrow ; histologically separated phellema and phelloderm ; the phelloderm consists of alternating bands of thick- and thin-walled cells; the sporangia wall consists of different cell types; the megasporangium is flattened dorsiventrally; the megasporangium opens in the proximal area; the megaspores have a massa (structure on the spore surface, which consists of irregularly shaped sporopollenin balls); the microspores are granulo-fulveolate on their contact surface; the distal ornamentation of the microspores is papillate. With some other representatives of the Lepidodendrales they share a thin-walled parenchyma around the leaf trace ; the top sheet cushion panel is folded; upper and lower leaf cushion fields are separated by a line on the side.
For the characteristics largely shared with the Lepidodendraceae see Lepidodendrales # characteristics .
Systematics
The Diaphorodendraceae are the sister group of the Lepidodendraceae and together with these they form the so-called "shed trees", after the scaly leaf scars. According to DiMichele and Bateman (1996), the following genera are included in the family:
The family includes at least five anatomically preserved species. Some late Carboniferous species described as Lepidodendron should also belong to this family.
supporting documents
- William A. DiMichele, Richard M. Bateman: The Rhizomorphic Lycopsids: A Case-Study in Paleobotanical Classification . Systematic Botany, 1996, Vol. 21, pp. 535-552.
- Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, Michael Krings: Paleobotany. The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants . Second Edition, Academic Press 2009, ISBN 978-0-12-373972-8 . Pp. 279-309.