SelaginellaSelaginella, also known as spikemosses or lesser clubmosses, is a genus of lycophyte. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Selaginellaceae, with over 750 known species. This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (the clubmosses) by having scale-leaves bearing a ligule and by having spores of two types. They are sometimes included in an informal paraphyletic group called the "fern allies". The species S. moellendorffii is an important model organism.
ZosterophyllThe zosterophylls are a group of extinct land plants that first appeared in the Silurian period. The taxon was first established by Banks in 1968 as the subdivision Zosterophyllophytina; they have since also been treated as the division Zosterophyllophyta or Zosterophyta and the class or plesion Zosterophyllopsida or Zosteropsida. They were among the first vascular plants in the fossil record, and had a world-wide distribution.
IsoetalesIsoetales, sometimes also written Isoëtales, is an order of plants in the class Lycopodiopsida. There are about 140-150 living species, all of which are classified in the genus Isoetes, (quillworts), with a cosmopolitan distribution, but often scarce to rare. Living species are mostly aquatic or semi-aquatic, and are found in clear ponds and slowly moving streams.
LepidodendralesLepidodendrales (from the Greek for "scale tree") or arborescent lycophytes are an extinct order of primitive, vascular, heterosporous, arborescent (tree-like) plants belonging to Lycopodiopsida.
LycopodiaceaeThe Lycopodiaceae (class Lycopodiopsida, order Lycopodiales) are an old family of vascular plants, including all of the core clubmosses and firmosses, comprising 17 accepted genera and about 500 known species. This family originated about 380 million years ago in the early Devonian, though the diversity within the family has been much more recent. "Wolf foot" is another common name for this family due to the resemblance of either the roots or branch tips to a wolf's paw.Pteridophyte Phylogeny GroupThe Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to agree on the classification of pteridophytes (lycophytes and ferns) that reflects knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies. In 2016, the group published a classification for extant pteridophytes, termed "PPG I". The paper had 94 authors (26 principal and 68 additional).Microphylls and megaphyllsIn plant anatomy and evolution a microphyll (or lycophyll) is a type of plant leaf with one single, unbranched leaf vein. Plants with microphyll leaves occur early in the fossil record, and few such plants exist today. In the classical concept of a microphyll, the leaf vein emerges from the protostele without leaving a leaf gap. Leaf gaps are small areas above the node of some leaves where there is no vascular tissue, as it has all been diverted to the leaf.
Vascular plantVascular plants (from Latin vasculum 'duct'), also called tracheophytes (UK: , US: ) or collectively Tracheophyta (; from Ancient Greek τραχεῖα ἀρτηρία (trakheîa artēría) 'windpipe' and φυτά (phutá) 'plants'), are plants that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue (the phloem) to conduct products of photosynthesis.
SporangiumA sporangium (from Late Latin, from Ancient Greek (sporá)'seed' and (angeîon)'vessel'; pl.: sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other groups form sporangia at some point in their life cycle. Sporangia can produce spores by mitosis, but in land plants and many fungi, sporangia produce genetically distinct haploid spores by meiosis.
SporeIn biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, fungi and protozoa. They were thought to have appeared as early as the mid-late Ordovician period as an adaptation of early land plants.
CoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as layers called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is a fossil fuel, formed when plants decay into peat which is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.
CarboniferousFifth period of the Paleozoic EraSubdivision of the Carboniferous according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyName formalityFormalNickname(s)Age of Amphibians or ReptilesUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitPeriodStratigraphic unitSystemFirst proposed byWilliam Daniel Conybeare and William Phillips, 1822Time span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontSiphonodella sulcata (discovered to have biostratigraphic issues as of 2006)Lower boundary GSSPLa Serre, Montagne Noire, France43°33′20″N3°21′26″E / 43.5555°N 3.3573°E / 43.5555; 3.3573Lower GSSP ratified1990Upper boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontStreptognathodus isolatus within the morphotypeStreptognathodus wabaunsensis chronoclineUpper boundary GSSPAidaralash, Ural Mountains, Kazakhstan50°14′45″N57°53′29″E / 50.2458°N 57.8914°E / 50.2458; 57.8914Upper GSSP ratified1996Atmospheric and climatic dataSea level above present dayFalling from 120 m to present-day level throughout the Mississippian, then rising steadily to about 80 m at end of periodThe Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoicera that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period 358.86 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Permian Period, 298.9 Ma.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.