Symplocopteris
| Symplocopteris | ||||||||||||
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| Lower Carboniferous ( Tournaisium ) | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Symplocopteris | ||||||||||||
| Hueber & Galtier |
Symplocopteris is a genus from the order of the primitive ferns , Zygopteridales .
features
Symplocopteris wyattii is a tree fern. Pseudo trunks with a diameter of around 50 cm, which are made up of branching branches and phyllophores ( rachis ), have survived. The branches are dichotomous. Each side branch bears a phyllophore and a large, geotropic adventitious root . Small roots are formed by the phyllophores as well as the large roots. All roots have hair. The large roots could have absorbed the water from the ground, the small ones in the area of the false trunk.
Systematics and distribution
Symplocopteris is placed in the order Zygopteridales. There is only one species, Symplocopteris wyattii . It is known from the Tournaisium of Australia and is the oldest known example of a tree fern with a false trunk.
supporting documents
- 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 , p. 410.