A Late Devonian plant assemblage from New South Wales, Australia: Diversity and specificity

Meyer‐Berthaud, Brigitte; Decombeix, Anne-Laure; Girard, Catherine; Steemans, Philippe; Blanchard, Romain; Champreux, Antoine; Evreïnoff, Mathilde

doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2021.104535

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Until now, only a few Devonian forests have been found and studied in detail (Table 2), and they all come from the Laurussia palaeocontinent except for Xinhang forest, in South China (Figure 7). Recently, a Famennian plant assemblage comprising lycopsids, fern-like plants and seed plants was also found from Gondwana palaeocontinent [41]. Forests can date back to the Middle Devonian, when pseudosporochnalean trees began to flourish.…”

Section: Habitat and Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fern-like Plants Establishing the Understory of the Late Devonian Xinhang Lycopsid Forest

Yang,

Wang,

Liu

et al. 2024

Life

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Forests appeared during the Middle to Late Devonian, but Devonian forests and their compositions are still rarely known. Xinhang forest was reported as the largest Devonian forest, with lycopsid trees of Guangdedendron micrum Wang et al. A fern-like plant Xinhangia spina Yang and Wang with shoots and anatomy, was previously described from this forest, but its habit and ecology remain unclear. From Xinhang forest, we now report more specimens of fern-like plants including X. spina and some unnamed plants in several beds. Prominent adventitious roots, spines and secondary xylem indicate that the stems of X. spina are largely procumbent to function as anchorage, absorption and support. Other fern-like plants with distinct roots or multiple slender branches also suggest procumbent habits. Xinhang forest is thus reconsidered as multispecific with a canopy of lycopsid trees and understory of diverse fern-like plants, which are adapted to the disturbed coastal environment. The composition of Xinhang forest may indicate a structural transition of the early forests’ dominator from fern-like plants to lycopsids.

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Section: Habitat and Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%