A new conifer from the Upper Triassic of southern Poland linking the advanced voltzialean type of ovuliferous scale with Brachyphyllum-Pagiophyllum-like leaves

An overview of extant conifer evolution from the perspective of the fossil record

“…The abundance of recent diversification within otherwise widely divergent conifer lineages also limits their utility for reconstructing specific patterns of trait evolution, because large morphological branch lengths separate the surviving lineages. Paleobotany is therefore essential to understanding conifer phenotypic evolution, because it offers the potential to break up long morphological branches by identifying and characterizing extinct taxa with unusual traits (e.g., Herrera et al., ; Pacyna et al., ) and by testing the phylogenetic placement of such taxa (Escapa et al., ).…”

Polish Palaeobotany: 750 Million Years of Plant History as Revealed in a Century of Studies. Mesozoic Terrestrial Palynology and Flora Reconstruction

“…They were found inside the micropylar canal of the ovule (Figure 2A), at the micropylar end of the seed, and in the pollen sacs of polliniferous cones (Figure 2B,C). This is not only the first evidence of a relationship between Enzonalasporites pollen and the parent plant (Pacyna et al, 2017) but also a rare and valuable record of pollen grains found inside the micropylar canal of the ovule, fossilized at the precise moment of pollination.…”

“…Cheirolepidiaceae was dominant along the banks of rivers and lakes. During this period, the remains of the voltzialean Patokaea silesica with polliniferous cones containing pollen grains of the genus Enzonalasporites were found in the fluvial-lacustrine deposits of Patoka (Upper Silesia) (Pacyna et al, 2017).…”

An Exceptionally Preserved Terrestrial Record of LIP Effects on Plants in the Carnian (Upper Triassic) Amber-Bearing Section of the Dolomites, Italy

“…However, also the families Podocarpaceae (Samaropollenites), Araucariaceae (Araucariacites), Pinaceae (Abietinaepollenites) are represented in the palynological record. The monosaccate pollen grains are assigned to the Voltziales but without any detailed botanical affinity since the so far only in situ record is that of the putative voltzialean Patokaea silesiaca (Pacyna et al, 2017). Among the spores dominate those of the lycophytes (4/10 genera) and the ferns (4/10 genera).…”