Parrotia persica is one of the most notable endemic relict tree species growing in the Hyrcanian forest at the southern Caspian Sea. The recent discovery of sibling species Parrotia subaequalis, occurring in the temperate forests of south-eastern China, offers the opportunity to compare their morphology and ecological preferences and to dig deeper into the paleophytogeographic history of the genus from a perspective. Since pollen morphology of these species would be essential to unravel the origin and evolution of these Arcto-Tertiary species, the present study aimed to investigate whether it is possible to segregate pollen from these two species. Therefore, a detailed combined light- and scanning electron microscopy-based pollen-analysis of each taxon was conducted, the pollen was described, measured, and compared using statistical approaches and principal component analyses to establish unbiased results. The correlation-based principal component analysis achieved for each species shows an overall good superposition of pollen grains measured in equatorial and polar views in the first principal plane, revealing that the P. persica pollen is morphometrically as homogeneous as that of P. subaequalis. Then, the significant difference, mainly driven by lumen density, has been highlighted between the two species. Ultimately, the cross-validation of the resulting two-species linear discriminants classifier shows that based upon this reference dataset, (sub)fossil pollen grain can now be confidently assigned to either of the two species with an 85.8% correct-assignment rate. This opens new doors in the affiliation of fossil Parrotia pollen and suggests that previous pollen records need to be revised.

We present new palynological data from the Transantarctic Mountains that clarify the timing of sedimentary and magmatic processes in the transition from continental deposition of the Beacon Supergroup to emplacement of the Ferrar Large Igneous Province. Samples were collected from twenty-three Triassic and Jurassic sections in the southern area of north Victoria Land (NVL), East Antarctica. Recovered palynomorph assemblages are correlated with the widely used, although informal palynostratigraphic framework established for eastern Australia by Price. The associated Late Triassic–earliest Jurassic zone, APT5, is modified here with a proposed new subdivision: Lower APT5 (“APT5L”; middle–late Norian), Middle APT5 (“APT5M”; Rhaetian), and Upper APT5 (“APT5U”;Hettangian–earliest Sinemurian). We further propose a modification unifying the relevant formal eastern Australian and New Zealand palynostratigraphic zones, with a new Polycingulatisporites crenulatus Association Zone (new zonal status) that includes the P. crenulatus Association Subzone (new subzone; equivalent toAPT5L) and the following Foveosporites moretonensis Association Subzone (new subzonal status; equivalent to APT5M). Our palynostratigraphic dating of the NVL assemblages demonstrates that the onset of sedimentation was diachronous in this part of the Transantarctic Basin, ranging from at least the Rhaetian to, in places, early Sinemurian. By lack of evidence for rocks containing APT5U assemblages and by analogy with the few coeval sections in Australia, we infer that the Hettangian interval in NVL is probably consumed by unconformity. Depositionof ashes from distal silicic volcanism commenced in the early Sinemurian and reached a peak phase beginning in middle Pliensbachian (ca 187Ma), coinciding with the first major magmatic interval of the silicic Chon Aike Province in Patagonia and West Antarctica. Two major episodes of phreatomagmatic activity, driven by shallow-level sill intrusion into sandstone aquifers, occurred during the middle Pliensbachian and during the late Pliensbachian–early Toarcian. The latter episode was closely followed by the first pillow extrusion and local lava effusion. Contrary to some previous studies, we further conclude that all available palynological evidence is compatible with a short-lived emplacement of the plateau-forming Kirkpatrick Basalt at around 180 Ma during the early Toarcian.

Middle Miocene deposits exposed at the Tınaz lignite mine, Yatağan Basin, Muğla, southwestern Turkey, were palynologically investigated. The Tınaz lignite mine section belongs to the Eskihisar Formation. The lignite seam at the base of the section represents the uppermost part of the Turgut Member. Above, c. 65 m of clayey siltstone, limestone, and marls represent the Sekköy Member. Nine spores, zygospores and cysts of fungi and algae, seven moss and fern spores, 12 gymnosperm pollen types, and more than 80 angiosperm pollen taxa were recovered from the Tınaz lignite mine section. Three pollen zones were recognized, of which pollen zone 1 corresponds to the formation of the main lignite seam and reflects the change from a fluviatile to a lacustrine depositional setting. Pollen zones 2 and 3 and a transitional zone 2-3 reflect different stages of lake development and a shift in local vegetation from forested (pollen zones 1 and 2) to more open (transitional zone 2-3, zone 3). Interpreting changes in regional vegetation from pollen zones 1 to 3 is not straightforward as changes in the pollen spectra may be affected by changing contributions of airborne and water transported pollen and spores to the observed palynoassemblages. Age inference for the Tınaz lignite mine section has been complicated by the absence of datable ash layers, associated mammal faunas, or marine sediments. However, pollen zone 3 shares key features with the pollen spectrum recovered from the nearby mammal site Yenieskihisar (upper part of Sekköy Member) for which an age of 12.5-11.2 Ma has been suggested, and to the youngest pollen zone recovered from the mammal locality Çatakbağyaka, 10 km south of Tınaz, that probably represents mammal zone MN7/8 instead of MN5 or MN6 as previously suggested. In contrast, pollen zones 1 and 2 are fairly similar to the basal parts of the Çatakbağyaka pollen flora (uppermost parts of Turgut Member, basalmost parts of Sekköy Member). Furthermore, new mammal data from the Yatağan basin suggest that the layers below pollen zone 1 are MN4/5, and that carnivores cooccuring with pollen zone 1 in the main lignite seam of Eskihisar probably belong to MN6. Hence, a Langhian to Serravallian age can be inferred for pollen zones 1 and 2 of the Tınaz lignite mine section, and a late Serravallian age for pollen zone 3. Palaeobiogeographic relationships of the palynofloras are generally northern hemispheric, with many north temperate tree taxa showing modern disjunctions East Asia- NorthAmerica (Tsuga, Carya), East Asia- western Eurasia (Zelkova), East Asia- North America- western Eurasia (Liquidambar), or restricted to East Asia (Cathaya, Eucommia) or North America (Decodon). A few taxa belong to extinct lineages that have complex biogeographic patterns (Engelhardioideae, Cedrelospermum). The presence of Picrasma (Simaroubaceae) in the lower lignite layers of pollen zone 1 is remarkable, as the botanical affinities with the enigmatic flower Chaneya present in early to middle Miocene deposits of Turkey and Central Europe have recently been shown to be with Picrasma. 

Analyses for organic “fingerprints” on fossilized plant cuticles and pollen hold valuable chemotaxonomic and palaeoclimatic information, and are thus becoming more utilized by palaeobotanists. Plant cuticle and pollen composition are generally analyzed after standard treatments with several chemical reagents for mineral and mesophyll removal. However, the potential alterations on the fossil composition caused by the different cleaning reagents used are still poorly understood. We tested the effects of commonly used palaeobotanical processing methods on the spectra of fossilized cuticles from successions of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic age, including the gymnosperms Lepidopteris, Ginkgoites, Podozamites, Ptilozamites and Pterophyllum astartense. Our study shows that standard chemical processing caused chemical alterations that might lead to erroneous interpretation of the infrared (IR) spectra. The difference in pH caused by HCl induces changes in the proportion between the two bands at ~1720 and 1600 cm 1 (carboxylate and C-C stretch of aromatic compounds) indicating that the band at ~1610 cm 1 at least partially corresponds to carboxylate instead of C-C stretch of aromatic compounds. Interestingly, despite being used in high concentration, HF did not cause changes in the chemical composition of the cuticles. The most alarming changes were caused by the use of Schulze ’s solution, which resulted in the addition of both NO2 and (O)NO2 compounds in the cuticle. Consequently, a new protocol using H2CO3, HF, and H2O2 for preparing fossil plant cuticles aimed for chemical analyses is proposed, which provides an effective substitute to the conventional methods. In particular, a less aggressive and more sustainable alternative to Schulze’s solution is shown to be hydrogen peroxide, which causes only minor alteration of the fossil cuticle ’s chemical composition. Future work should carefully follow protocols, having in mind the impacts of different solutions used to treat leaves and other palaeobotanical material such as palynomorphs with aims to enable the direct comparison of spectra obtained in different studies.

Anatomically preserved trunks and young stems of corystosperm seed ferns are described from the Triassic of Fremouw Peak, Beardmore Glacier area, Antarctica. Based on characters of the primary and secondary vascular system, these new specimens are assigned to Kykloxylon, a genus that was established based on young stems with attached Dicroidium leaf bases. The largest specimens illustrate how some secondary growth characters, such as unequal cambial activity, appeared during later development, which enables a better comparison of Kykloxylon with trunks assigned to other corystosperm genera. Jeffersonioxylon from the Gordon Valley, Antarctica, and Cuneumxylon from South America show strong similarities with the newly described larger Kykloxylon trunks from Fremouw Peak, and might be considered congeneric. Our results provide further support for the presence of two anatomically and morphologically distinct kinds of Dicroidium-bearing trees in the Triassic vegetation of Gondwana, one with a palm-like habit and Rhexoxylon stems and the other with a more Ginkgo-like habit and Kykloxylon/Cuneumxylon-type stems

Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) permineralized woods from Australia with multiseriate rays have been customarily assigned or compared to the European genus Pitus, despite the absence of information on their primary vascular anatomy. In the context of continuing work on the diversity of Late Devonian andMississippian floras of Gondwana, we studied new silicified woods with secondary xylem similar to that of Pitus (multiseriate rays, araucarioid radial pitting) from two sedimentary basins of Queensland, Australia. In the Drummond Basin, three morphotypes of wood of Viséan age can be distinguished based on ray size in tangential section. Although this variation is similar to that observed between the various European species of Pitus, information on the primary vascular anatomy of the trees provided by three incomplete specimens excludes an affinity with Pitus for at least two taxa. In the Yarrol Basin, two well-preserved late Viséan trunks also have characters similar to Pitus but can be distinguished from that genus and other previously described Mississippian trees, in particular by the anatomy of their primary vascular system and departing leaf traces. They are assigned to a new genus, Ninsaria. Collectively, the new specimens from Queensland show that wood traditionally referred to “Pitus” from Australia actually belongs to several other types of trees that are not known from Europe or North America, indicating probable floristic provincialism between the Northern and Southern hemisphere floras at this time. These new fossils corroborate the existence of a global Mississippian diversification of (pro)gymnosperm trees already noted in Laurussia. They also indicate that the Mississippian floras of Australia were more diverse and complex than traditionally inferred.

The position of Turkey between Europe and Asia makes this region interesting for palaeobotanical investigations. We investigated plant macrofossils from early Miocene deposits of W Turkey (Soma, Manisa) and compiled a catalogue of revised and new plant taxa. We documented 100 fossil-taxa, of which several are new for Turkey (Mahonia aff. pseudosimplex, Ziziphus paradisiaca, Comptonia longirostris, Carya denticulata, Viscum, Fatsia, Pungiphyllum cruciatum). Some previous records are rejected (e.g. Apocynophyllum, Cassia, Castanea, Ficus, Illicium, Liriodendron, Vaccinium). Using modern ecology and taphonomy, we reconstructed palaeoenvironments. We found evidence for a belt of drier, more open habitats with cycads, Dracaena, Mahonia, Smilax miohavanensis, and others. Other vegetation units comprise swamp and riparian forest with few dominants (expressed in highabundance of leaf specimens). On well-drained soils, lowland forest with large-leaved Lauraceae vel Fagaceae and rare elements (Fatsia) was present, while humid temperate broadleaf-deciduous and conifer forest flourished higher up. To infer palaeoclimate we used the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) and compared the results with other Miocene localities of Turkey. Early Miocene floras had warm climates (mean annual temperature, MAT, and coldest month temperature, CMMT) with weak precipitation seasonality. MAT and CMMT were cooler during the early middle Miocene. Several fossil-taxa at Soma have biogeographic links with older/coeval localities in C Europe and/or the W Mediterranean region (cycads, Torreya, Dracaena, Smi-lax miohavanensis, Mahonia aff. pseudosimplex, Carya denticulata, Ilex miodipyrena, Pungiphyllum). Few taxa have clear links to C Asian floras (Comptonia longirostris). True E Mediterranean endemics are even rarer (Mahoniaspp., Quercus sosnowskyi).

Sclerophyllous oaks (genus Quercus) play important roles in Neogene ecosystems of south-western Eurasia. Modern analogues (‘nearest living relatives’) for these oaks have been sought among five of six infrageneric lineages of Quercus, distributed across the entire Northern Hemisphere. A revision of leaf fossils from lower Miocene to Pliocene deposits suggests that morphotypes of the Quercus drymeja complex are very similar to a number of extant Himalayan, East Asian, and Southeast Asian species of Quercus Group Ilex and may indicate subtropical, relatively humid conditions. Quercus mediterranea comprises leaf morphotypes that are encountered in modern Mediterranean species of Quercus Group Ilex, but also in Himalayan and East Asian members of this group indicating fully humid or summer-wet conditions. The fossil taxa Quercus drymeja and Q. mediterranea should be treated as morphotype complexes, which possibly comprised different biological species at different times. Quercus mediterranea, although readily recognizable as a distinct morphotype in early to late Miocene plant assemblages, may in fact represent small leaves of the same plants that constitute the Quercus drymeja complex. Based on the available evidence, the taxa [GG1] forming the Q. drymeja complex and Q. mediterranea thrived in fully humid or summer-wet climates. The onset of the modern vegetational context of Mediterranean sclerophyllous oaks is difficult to trace, but may have been during the latest Pliocene/early Pleistocene.

A new microsporangiate cone, Renbernia zhoui, is described from the mesofossil flora extracted from exposures ofthe Potomac Group at Puddledock, Virginia, U.S.A., which are of Early Cretaceous (early-middle Albian) age. The cone consists of densely arranged dorsiventrally flattened laminar, flabelliform microsporangiophores that bear two elongate microsporangia on the presumed abaxial surface. The microsporangia are separated by sterile tissue that expands apically into a prominent hood-like sterile extension. The microsporangia have extrorse valvate dehiscence and both microsporangia and sterile apical expansion are covered by a short stiff hairs. In situ pollen resembles Decussosporites, elliptical with a long median colpus on the presumed distal surface flanked laterally by two equally long lateral colpi. A short transverse colpus on the presumed proximal surface links the two lateral colpi and divides the grain into two parts creating the appearance of two sacci. Renbernia zhoui is similar to Brenneria potomacensis described from the slightly older Drewry's Bluff and Dutch Gap mesofossil floras from the Potomac Group that also has Decussosporites-type pollen in situ. However, Renbernia microsporangiophores are more distinctly laminar and have sporangia that are more prominently elongated and with a hood-like apical extension of sterile tissue. The in situ pollen is also much smaller, the pollen wall is much more distinctly perforate-foveolate rather than more or less psilate, and in Renbernia the saccus-like structures are not inflated. The relationship of Brenneria and Renbernia, as well as the possible link between Decussosporites-type pollen and pollen of Eucommiidites (Erdtmanithecales) is discussed.

A new taxon, Skyttegaardia galtieri, is described based on microsporangiophores with Monosulcites/Cycadopites pollen isolated from clays collected at the Skyttegård locality, island of Bornholm, Denmark, which are of earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) age. Each microsporangiophore consists of a short, massive proximal fertile stalk-like portion with a truncate base, and a long sterile distal extension. A cavity on each side of the median line of the stalk-like portion, partially encloses a sporangium that dehisces by a longitudinal slit. The long distal extension tapers to a slender point and is curved toward the inferred adaxial side. The extension is irregularly angular in cross-section and the cuticle is thick with deep stomatal pits. The organization of the microsporangiophore, the in situ pollen and stomatal features suggest relationship with extant Cycadales. However, in all extant and fossil cycads there are usually many more sporangia per microsporangiophore, typically in groups of two to five, and they are borne on the surface of the proximal stalk-like portion rather than embedded in its tissues. These differences preclude secure inclusion of Skyttegaardia in Cycadales and open the possibility that these microsporangiophores were produced by a group of extinct plants, the other parts of which remain to be identified. The thick cuticle and sunken stomata of Skyttegaardia, together with the embedded sporangia, suggest adaptation to water stress, which is also consistent with the xeromorphic traits seen among the leaf fragments in the Skyttegaard flora and the arid conditions inferred from geological–geochemical proxies.

The Gleisdorf Formation (Fm.) deposits in the clay pit at Gratkorn, Styria, Austria, are dated to 12.2–12 Ma,and are of late Middle Miocene age (late Serravallian or Sarmatian). To reconstruct the paleovegetation and estimate the paleoclimate at this important vertebrate site, the palynoflora close to the boundary between the vertebrate-bearing layers of the Gratkorn Fm. and the overlying limnic clay deposits of the Gleisdorf Fm. was investigated. Using the single-grain method, 140 palynomorphs were identified. The palynoflora suggests that the paleovegetation was characterised by well-drained lowland and upland forests, riparian forest, and swamp forests. Depending on the dominating tree species, lowland and upland forests might have had closed or more open canopies. Open habitats included wet meadows and shrublands. In addition, conifers were present in theswampy lowlands and the forested uplands. The most prominent paleoclimatic signatures of the palynoflora indicate a fully humid warm temperate climate, with hot to warm summers and cool winters (Cfa-, Cfb-climate), and a seasonal climate with cool and drier winters and hot to warm and wetter summers (Cwa-, Cwb-climate). Our results align with existing studies bordering the Styrian Basin and support the presence of subtropical to warm-temperate vegetation around Gratkorn during the Sarmatian.

The ‘Coexistence Approach’ is amutual climate range (MCR) technique combinedwith the nearest-living relative (NLR) concept. It has been widely used for palaeoclimate reconstructions based on Eurasian plant fossil assemblages; most of them palynofloras (studied using light microscopy). The results have been surprisingly uniform, typically converging to subtropical, per-humid or monsoonal conditions. Studies based on the Coexistence Approach have had a marked impact in literature, generating over 10,000 citations thus far. However, recent studies have pointed out inherent theoretical and practical problems entangled in the application of this widely used method. But so far little is known how results generated by the Coexistence Approach are affected by subjective errors, data errors, and violations of the basic assumptions. The majority of Coexistence Approach studies make use of the Palaeoflora database (the combination of which will be abbreviated to CA + PF). Testing results produced by CA + PF studies has been hindered by the general unavailability of the contents in the underlying Palaeoflora database; two exceptions are the mean-annual temperature tolerances and lists of assigned associations between fossils and nearest-living relatives. Using a recently published study on the Eocene of China,which provides the first and only insight into the data structure of the Palaeoflora database,we compare the theory and practice of Coexistence Approach using the Palaeoflora database (CA+PF).We show that CA+PF is riddled by association and climate data error.We reveal flaws in the application of the Coexistence Approach,which is often in stark contrast to the theory of the method. We show that CA + PF is highly vulnerable against numerous sources of errors, mainly because it lacks safeguards that could identify unreliable data. We demonstrate that the CA+PF produces coherent, pseudo-precise results even for artificially generated, randomplant assemblages. AlternativeMCR-NLR methods can surpass the most imminent deficits of the Coexistence Approach, and may be used as a stop-gap until more accurate bioclimatic and distribution data on potential Eurasian NLRs, and theoretically and statistically robust methods will become available. Finally, general guidelines are provided for the future application of methods using the mutual climatic range with nearest living relatives approach when reconstructing climate from plant fossil assemblages.

Plant–insect interactions in the fossil record are, as yet, sparsely known and understudied. Here, we document evidence of a new type of insect skeletonization on Abroma augustum (L.) L. f. (Malvaceae) leaf remains fromthe latest Neogene (Pliocene) sediments of Chotanagpur plateau, Jharkhand, eastern India. This unique skeletonization feeding trace attributable to herbivorous insects occurs all over the surfaces of our recovered Pliocene leaf remains. In the skeletonized area, the interveinal tissues are completely removed leaving behind only the tough leaf veins. This type of insect feeding behaviour is documented for the first time on Indian Cenozoic leaf remains. Based on published data, as well as our survey of modern forests adjacent to the fossil locality, we suggest that probable damage inducers of this skeletonization on Abroma Jacq. fossil leaves might be Chrysomelid (Coleopteran) beetles. This finding also reveals that specific insect feeding damage, such as the one presented here, can reveal similarity of environments despite the difference of plant species observed. Such results strengthen the importance of using plant–insect interactions on leaves as a complementary proxy to others revealing paleoenvironmental conditions.

Fossil resin (amber) has been recently reported as common, but small, sedimentary components throughout thelower Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian; 99–94 Ma) strata of the Tupuangi Formation, Chatham Islands, easternZealandia. From these deposits, resin has also been identified and obtained from well-preserved, coalified specimensof the conifer fossil Protodammara reimatamorioriMays and Cantrill, 2018. Here, we employed attenuatedtotal reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) to both dispersed and in situ amber specimens.These resulted in very similar chemical signatures, indicating that these fossils are likely from the same orclosely-related botanical sources. The FTIR data are typical of a conifer source within the ‘cupressaceous resins’category of Tappert et al. (2011). Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C NMR) facilitatedthe probable identification of these ambers as ‘Class Ib' (sensu Anderson et al. 1992). Based on these spectraldata sets, the likely botanical sources of the amber were either Araucariaceae or Cupressaceae; both of these coniferfamilies were common and widespread in the Southern Hemisphere during the Cretaceous. However, themorphology and anatomy of P. reimatamoriori support an affinity to the latter family, thus indicating that the Cretaceousamber of the Chatham Islands was generally produced by members of the Cupressaceae. Comparing theFTIR data to the published spectra of modern resins, we also identify a band ratio which may aid in distinguishingbetween the FTIR spectra of Araucariaceae and Cupressaceae, and outline the limitations to this approach. A highconcentration of ester bonds in Chatham amber specimens, which exceeds typical Cupressaceae resins, is probablycaused by taphonomic alteration via thermal maturation. The source of thermal alteration was likely preburialwildfires,conditions forwhich P. reimatamoriori was adapted to as part of its life cycle. A comparison of ambersof the Chatham Islands with modern resins and amber from various localities in Australasia reveals that,taphonomic influences aside, Chatham amber has a unique signature, suggesting that members of the basalCupressaceae (e.g., Protodammara) were not major contributors to other documented Australasian amber deposits.The closest analogy to Chatham amber deposits appears to be the Upper Cretaceous Raritan Formation,USA, which is characterised by its rich amber, charcoal and Cupressaceae fossil assemblages. This study furthersupports the hypotheses that the early Late Cretaceous south polar forests were dominated by Cupressaceae,and regularly disturbed by wildfires.

Diminutive, silica-permineralized lycopsid axes, from a Guadalupian (Middle Permian) silicified peat in the Bainmedart Coal Measures of East Antarctica are described and assigned to Paurodendron stellatum sp. nov. Axes consist only of primary-growth tissues with a vascular system characterized by an exarch actinostele with 6–20 protoxylem points. Stems have a relatively narrow cortex of thin-walled cells that are commonly degraded, but the root cortex typically contains more robust, thick-walled cells. The stems bear helically inserted, elliptical–rhombic, ligulate microphylls. Roots possess an eccentrically positioned monarch vascular strand. Paurodendron stellatum is one of a very small number of anatomically preserved lycopsid axes described from the Gondwanan Permian and represents the first post-Carboniferous record of this genus. Based on dispersed vegetative remains, megaspores and microspores, herbaceous lycopsids, such as P. stellatum, appear to have been important understorey components of both low- and high-latitude mire forests of the late Palaeozoic.

Longitudinally aligned borings attributed to the ichnotaxon Dekosichnus meniscatus in the inner secondary wood of a silicified Middle–Late Jurassic conifer from Argentina contain finely granular frass particles arranged in meniscoid laminae. Synchrotron X-ray computed tomographic reconstruction of the borings reveals new characters of this ichnotaxon, such as opposing orientations of menisci in some adjacent borings, regular spacing of minor and major meniscoid laminae, a scarcity of tunnel branching, and rare occurrences of cylindrical–spherical terminal chambers on excavations. Architectural and distributional features of the galleries suggest excavation by cerambycid beetle larvae, thus representing one of the earliest potential fossil records of this group. The borings are confined to the inner wood of a young tree that experienced a moderately seasonal climate in a volcanically influenced landscape. By detecting subtle heterogeneities in composition, this study demonstrates that high-energy synchrotron X-ray tomography can characterize anatomical features and complex ecological interactions within even densely permineralized (silicified) plant fossils.

We review recent advances on glossopterid reproductive biology and their implications for seed plant phylogeny and the ecology of this widespread Permian Gondwanan group. Microsporangiate organs are interpreted to have been arranged in loose compound cones—an organization that evokes comparisons with Ginkgoales, Cordaitales and early conifers. The pollen was typically taeniate, bisaccate, and primarily adapted to wind dispersal. The diverse ovuliferous organs generally incorporated some form of marginal flange or wing. In most cases, the wing was probably protective, wrapping around the ovules during early development. However, we postulate that some conspicuous flanges were potentially analogous to angiosperm petals, functioning as corolla-like guides to attract insect pollinators. The arrangement of seed-bearing polysperms adnate to the subtending leaf to form a fertiliger in glossopterids represented another means of protecting the ovules. In some cases, highlighting the polysperm against the attached leaf might have increased the showiness of the ovule-bearing part for pollinators. In other cases, detachment of the fertiliger may have aided anemochory by retarding seed fall through rotation analogous to dispersal in extant Tilia. The microgametophyte in glossopterids is characterized by a short, weakly branched, haustorial tube, and the release of motile sperm cells. At least some seeds of glossopterids express polyembryony. Mature seeds possessed various micropylar modifications for the entrapment of pollen, and winged or bulbous expansions of the outer integument to aid anemochory or possibly hydrochory. Vegetative regeneration as a response to damage occurred via epicormic buds and possibly by the development of lignotubers.

We have performed a palynostratigraphic study on miospore assemblages from near-shore marine Silurian sed-imentary rocks of Skåne, southern Sweden. The material includes both drillcore (from Klintaborrningen 1 and Bjärsjölagårdborrningen 2) and outcrop samples from various localities in Skåne. Well- preserved spore assemblages were identified. Long ranging species with a global distribution dominate the spore assemblages, including Ambitisporites sp., Dyadospora sp., Laevolancis sp., and Tetrahedraletes sp. and complemented with key taxa including Emphanisporites neglectus, Hispanaediscus lamontii, Hispanaediscus verrucatus, Scylaspora scripta, Synorisporites libycus and Synorisporites tripapillatus. Based on biostratigraphical schemes for early land plant spores, the studied sedimentary rocks of the cores Klintaborrningen 1 and Bjärsjölagårdborrningen 2 are interpreted as late Silurian in age, spanning Ludlow to Přídolí. The spore assemblages are compared and correlated to marine fossil schemes including those of conodonts, chitinozoans, graptolites and tentaculitids. Additionally, relative abundance data of specific spore taxa have been used for correlation between the drillcores and the outcrops.

Palynological analyses were carried out on 50 samples from the Övedskloster 1 (Ö1) and 2 drillcores (Ö2), southern Sweden. The study revealed well-preserved palynological assemblages including 77 spore species in 28 genera, and some additional forms retained under open nomenclature. The spore assemblages are collectively dominated by trilete spores in terms of abundance and diversity and have been ascribed to two informal palynozones (Assemblage A and Assemblage B), based on the representation of spore taxa. The presence of the spore species Acinosporites salopiensis, Chelinohilates erraticus, Cymbohilates allenii, Cymbohilates allenii var. magnus, and Retusotriletes maccullockii indicates that the stratigraphic succession spans the Silurian–Devonian boundary (Přídolí–Lochkovian), and thus constitutes the first robust evidence of Devonian strata on the Swedish mainland. These results have implications for the age of fossil faunas (e.g. fish) from the samedeposits, previously dated as late Silurian. Palynofacies analyses reveal a shallowing-upward succession with nearshore marine marls at the base of the investigated core, grading into sandstones in conjunction with a decrease in the relative abundance of marine palynomorphs. The uppermost 70 m are mainly represented by red sandstones that are devoid of recognizable palynomorphs and host only phytodebris. We interpret this interval to represent predominantly paralic to fluvial deposits equivalent to facies represented in the Old Red Sandstone of Britain.

A middle latitude (c. 40° N) flora from the Lower Cretaceous of Duingen, north-western Germany, has been investigated. The newly collected fossils are preserved as impressions and compressions, some yielding cuticular details. Twenty-one species have been identified. The flora is dominated by ginkgophytes and conifers, whilst other groups such as Nilssoniales and Bennettitales represent minor portions of the vegetation. The bennettitaleans may be among the youngest of this group in Europe and one sphenophyte and a few ferns are also present. Two new species are described (viz. Nilssonia kurwia and Williamsonia joanwatsoniae) and one new combination (viz. Ptilophyllum aequale) is made. The composition of the flora is similar to that of other floras from the German Wealden, but exhibits certain differences from the English Wealden. The Duingen flora is compared to nearby and more remote Early Cretaceous floras of the Northern Hemisphere revealing a general need for revision of the German Wealden to improve correlation with more remote floras. The Duingen fossil flora derives from an established mixed temperate ginkgoalean–conifer forest with bennettites and Nilssoniales as minor, understorey components, most likely restricted to the moister coastal fringes of the forest.

The diverse bennettitalean plant remains from the Rhaetian of Wüstenwelsberg, Franconia, southern Germany,are described by means of macromorphological and epidermal anatomy; the study is part of the ongoing examinationof this recently excavated and excellently preserved fossil flora. The taxa identified include four species ofPterophyllum, one species of Anomozamites, two species of Nilssoniopteris and one species of Wielandiella withsterile leaves, bracts and ovulate reproductive organs. In addition, an enigmatic type of bennettitalean microsporangiateorgan has been obtained, remains of which from the Rhaetian of Greenland had been assigned toBennettistemon. However, the material from Wüstenwelsberg is much more complete and is assigned to a newgenus, viz. Welsbergia gen. nov., with its type species Welsbergia bursigera (Harris) comb. nov., based on theorgan's unique architecture. The microsporangiate organs are always exclusively associated with the sterile foliagePterophyllum aequale. Comparison of the flora fromWüstenwelsbergwith adjacent Rhaetian floras revealeddistinct local differences in the bennettitalean constitution, which are discussed in the light of palaeogeographyand plant dispersal patterns.

Komlopteris is a genus that includes the youngest representative of the so-called ‘seed ferns’, an informal group of gymnosperms that were prevalent during the Mesozoic but largely went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. New fossil material, morphological data, and an extensive literature review allowed us to clarify the systematics of Gondwanan post-Triassic leaves of the Komlopteris lineage that were formerly assigned to diverse genera. Trends in diversity and distribution were identified. Ten species of Komlopteris were recognized in Jurassic to Eocene strata across Gondwana. Earliest records of the genus derive from South America soon after the end-Triassic extinction event. The genus reached its peak diversity and range in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous and declined markedly after the Aptian. Its youngest representation is in mid-Cretaceous to Eocene deposits of southeastern Gondwana. Although never dominant, Komlopteris represents an important subsidiary component of austral Jurassic–Paleogene plant fossil assemblages. Striking morphological similarities to Dicroidium and Kurtziana, and co-occurrence with low concentrations of Alisporites/Falcisporites-type pollen, suggest that Komlopteris was a gymnosperm belonging to Umkomasiales (=Corystospermales) that survived the end-Triassic and end-Cretaceous biotic crises in climatically buffered humid habitats of high southern latitudes. Arthropod induced leaf damage was rare on Komlopteris foliage and recognized only in two Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous species.

Lycophytes were an important group of plants in the late Permian (Lopingian) vegetation of Southwest China. However, our understanding of these lycophytes is based mostly on the study of megafossil specimens. Here, we describe a unique lycophyte megaspore, Paxillitriletes permicus Sui, McLoughlin et Feng sp. nov., from the Lopingian Xuanwei Formation of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. This trilete megaspore is characterized by prominent membraneous triradiate flanges, long bifurcate spines, an arcuate ridge expanded into a zona, and triangular to polygonal reticulate sculpture. Ultrastructural analysis reveals that the megaspore wall consists of four layers. The innermost layer is the foot layer, which forms a thin and solid basal lamina. It is covered by a dense layer containing small and parallel sporopollenin grains. A thick spongy layer is developed exterior to the dense layer and consists of elongate, curved, and intersected sporopollenin units with porous zones. The outermost layer is dense, of variable thickness, and forms the processes. Morphological and ultrastructural features indicate that the new megaspore belongs to a herbaceous isoetalean. This is the first detailed investigation of megaspores from the Lopingian of China using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Our discovery represents the oldest occurrence of Paxillitriletes, and adds to the diversity of late Permian lycophytes in the Cathaysian Flora in the paleotropics of the eastern Tethys Ocean.

Two distinctive lycopsid megaspore species, Henrisporites yunnanensis Sui, McLoughlin et Feng sp. nov. and H. qujingensis Sui, McLoughlin et Feng sp. nov., are described from the Lopingian Xuanwei Formation of Yunnan Province, Southwest China, using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Henrisporites yunnanensis is characterized by prominent membranous triradiate labra with ragged margins, a broad irregularly serrated membranous zona with radiating spiny extensions, and ramified or unbranched spines on the spore surface, those on the distal surface especially having capillate termini. Punctatisporites-type microspores occur adhering to the megaspore surface. The megaspore wall incorporates four layers, viz., from inside to outside: (1) a thin and dense foot layer especially thickened at the laesurae lips; (2) a moderately-thick layer with small circular and loosely distributed sporopollenin grains with parallel arrangement; (3) a thick spongy layer consisting ofelongate, curved and interconnected sporopollenin units perpendicular to the inner layers; and (4) an electron-dense outermost layer forming the ornamentation. Henrisporites qujingensis has lower membranous labra, a generally continuous membranous zona with radiate spiny margins but, in some cases, dissected into single fimbria, and bearing sparsely distributed and locally forked stubby spines over the spore surface. Henrisporites qujingensis also has a four-layered wall. The innermost thin foot layer is covered by a loose layer of tiny parallel sporopollenin grains. A thick spongy layer is developed exterior to the second layer and comprises elongate, curved, and intersecting sporopollenin units forming a porous zone. The outermost layer consists of varied sculptural processes with contrasting densities between the proximal and distal surfaces. The morphological and ultrastructural characteristics suggest that these new megaspores belong to Isoetales. Our discovery represents the earliest global occurrence of Henrisporites, which has been documented exclusively from the Mesozoic in previous studies.

High-resolution palynofloral signatures through the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary succession show several features in common with the Permian–Triassic transition but there are also important differences. Southern Hemisphere Cretaceous–Palaeogene successions, to date studied at high resolution only in New Zealand, reveal a diverse palynoflora abruptly replaced by fungi-dominated assemblages that are in turn succeeded by low diversity suites dominated by fern spores, then gymnosperm- and angiosperm-dominated palynofloras of equivalent diversity to those of the Late Cretaceous. This palynofloral signature is interpreted to represent instantaneous (days to months) destruction of diverse forest communities associated with the Chicxulub impact event. The pattern of palynofloral change suggests wholesale collapse of vascular plant communities and short-term proliferation of saprotrophs followed by relatively rapid successional recovery of pteridophyte and seed–plant communities. The Permian–Triassic transition records global devastation of gymnosperm-dominated forests in a short zone synchronous with one or more peaks of the fungal/algal palynomorph Reduviasporonites. This zone is typically succeeded by assemblages rich in lycophyte spores and/or acritarchs. Higher in the succession, these assemblages give way to diverse palynofloras dominated by new groups of gymnosperms. Although different plant families were involved in the mass-extinctions, the general pattern of extinction and recovery is consistent between both events. The major difference is the longer duration for each phase of the Triassic recovery vegetation compared to that of the Paleocene. The protracted extinction-recovery succession at the Permian–Triassic boundary is incompatible with an instantaneous causal mechanism such as an impact of a celestial body but is consistent with hypotheses invoking extended environmental perturbations through flood-basalt volcanism and release of methane from continental shelf sediments.

Venation architectures and cuticular micromorphology of leaf fossils play important roles in higher-level taxonomic segregation, as these characters are broadly fixed within major plant clades. Three common fossil plant taxa are characterized by similar-shaped leaves or leaflets and anastomosing venation to such an extent that examples have commonly been assigned to the wrong taxon in past studies where fragmentary or ill-preserved material is available. We use standardized descriptions of vein cross-connection types and stomatal features to compare and contrast the venation patterns and stomatal architectures of these genera. Our reanalysis of the macro- and micromorphology of Glossopteris, Sagenopteris and Anthrophyopsis leaves reveals important differences that help segregate these taxa even on the basis of incomplete specimens. Anthrophyopsis has distinctive alignments of vein cross-connections in the outer lamina and paracytic stomata consistent with those of Bennettitales. Glossopteris has perigenous and monocyclic—normally stephanocytic to actinocytic—stomata commonly protected in pits or by overarching papillae. Sagenopteris has more consistently evanescent midribs and surficial anomocytic or stephanocytic stomata with weakly modified subsidiary cells. Considering the putatively close relationship of glossopterids (Glossopteris), Caytoniales (Sagenopteris) and Bennettitales (here encompassing Anthrophyopsis) resolved as members of the ‘glossophyte’ clade in some past phylogenetic studies, cuticular features suggest that these groups are not closely related. In addition, anastomosing venation, superficially similar to that of Glossopteris, Sagenopteris and Anthrophyopsis appears to have arisen independently in numerous other plant groups suggesting that this character has ecological or physiological benefits and is strongly prone to homoplasy.