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Class notes Paleobotany
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Class notes Paleobotany
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PaleobotanyPaleobotany, also known as palaeobotany, is a branch of botany concerned with the recovery and
identification of plant remains from geological contexts, as well as their application to the biological
reconstruction of past environments (paleogeography) and the evolutionary history of plants, all of which
have an impact on the evolution of life in general. Paleophytology is a synonym. Paleontology and
paleobiology both include it. The prefix palaeo- comes from the Greek word palaios, which meaning
“ancient, old.”
Paleobotany is the study of prehistoric terrestrial plants as well as prehistoric marine photoautotrophs
such photosynthetic algae, seaweeds, and kelp. Palynology, the study of fossilised and current spores and
pollen, is a closely related science.
Paleobotany is essential to the study of green plant genesis and evolution, as well as paleoecology and
paleoclimatology, which recreate past ecological systems and climates. Paleobotany has grown more
relevant in archaeology, owing to the use of phytoliths in relative dating and paleoethnobotany.
The early 19th century saw the rise of paleobotany as a scientific field, particularly in the works of
German palaeontologist Ernst Friedrich von Schlotheim, Czech nobleman and scholar Kaspar Maria von
Sternberg, and French botanist Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart.
A summary of the paleobotanical evidence
During the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic period, the first macroscopic remnants of genuine vascular
plants were discovered in the fossil record. Some fragmented, disputed-affinity fossils, chiefly spores and
cuticles, have been discovered in Ordovician Period rocks in Oman, and are assumed to be from
liverwort- or moss-grade fossil plants (Wellman, Osterloff & Mohiuddin 2003). A hand sample of the
Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert from Scotland, unpolished. The Rhynie Chert, located outside of the
Scottish settlement of Rhynie, is a significant early land plant fossil site. The Rhynie chert is a silica-rich
sinter (hot spring) deposit from the Early Devonian period. It is unique in that it has preserved numerous
diverse plant clades, ranging from mosses to ferns.
The Rhynie Chert also contains arthropods and arachnids, and thus provides a unique insight into the
history of early terrestrial life.
Tree trunks, fronds, and roots are among the plant-derived macrofossils that became prevalent in the Late
Devonian. The first tree was considered to be Archaeopteris, which has simple, fern-like leaves spirally
arranged on branches atop a conifer-like stem (Meyer-Berthaud , Scheckler, & Wendt 1999), but it has
now been determined to be Wattieza .
During the Carboniferous Period, widespread coal swamp deposits spanning North America and Europe
included a plethora of fossils, including arborescent lycopods up to 30 metres tall, plentiful seed plants
including conifers and seed ferns, and many smaller herbaceous plants.
Fossils of plants
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