''Cordaites'' is an important genus of extinct

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

s which grew on wet ground similar to the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Brackish water

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s and

crustacea Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gro ...

are found frequently between the roots of these trees. The fossils are found in rock sections from the

Upper Carboniferous Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those ...

() of the

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coal area. A number of many noteworthy types from this line are: * ''Cordaites principalis'' * ''Cordaites ludlowi'' (named after

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, a coal area in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) * ''Cordaites hislopii''. Found in Paleorrota

geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences. In 20 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In contrast to many other plants, fossilized ''Cordaites''

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are not rare, because they are rather large (up to 10 mm); those seeds are named ''

Cordaicarpus ''Cordaicarpus'' is a form genus named by ''Geinitz'' (1862) and redefined by ''Seward'' (1917) to avoid confusion with another genus and to establish that the genus refers only seeds. ''Seward'' defined the differences between ''Cordaicarpus'' a ...

''.

References

External links

*https://www.uni-muenster.de/GeoPalaeontologie/Palaeo/Palbot/seite18.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20061109132122/http://museum.gov.ns.ca/fossils/gallery/specimen/967206.htm *http://www.xs4all.nl/~steurh/engcord/ecordai.html
Image of a ''Cardiocarpus'' fossil
Cordaitales Pennsylvanian plants Prehistoric gymnosperm genera Conifer genera Fossils of Georgia (U.S. state) Paleozoic life of New Brunswick Paleozoic life of Nova Scotia Paleozoic life of Prince Edward Island Paleozoic life of Quebec {{Carboniferous-plant-stub