A Palaeostachya From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas

Abstract

UNTIL RECENTLY, most of our knowledge of the anatomy of the calamitean cone genus Palaeostacliya Weiss (1876) was derived from studies of P. vera Seward (1898). Originally described by William• son (1871, 1888) as Calamites pedunculatus, this species was later described in more detail by Hickling (1907). The last-named author observed the peculiar course of the sporangiophore traces which ascended almost to the middle of the internode, then bent abruptly backward and entered the axillary sporangiophore. Several subsequent authors ie.g., Janssen, 1939, fig. 73a; Arnold, 1947, pp. 149-1050) have dealt with this particular feature as a generic character. b his original account of Palaeostachya, however, Weiss (1876) made no reference to the course of the trace, and merely stated that Palaeostachya differed from Calamostachys and other types of calamitean cones by having sporangiophores in an axillary position.

Toward a new synthesis: Major evolutionary trends in the angiosperm fossil record

“…The great strides in developing techniques of investigation for understanding Devonian fossil plants, on the basis of seemingly nondescript structurally compressed remains (42,43), and the excellent application of anatomy and morphology to the study of Pennsylvanian age plants (i.e., ref. 44, and examples cited in ref. 45) influenced me to apply similar techniques to fossil angiosperms to extract as much information as possible from compressed leaves and flowers.…”