Introduction to Paleobotany

Paleobotany explores plant life from Earth's geological past. It deciphers the evolution of flora over eons, using fossilized remains to unravel pre-Mesozoic mysteries and plant progression.

The Silurian Period marked the advent of vascular plants. Around 430 million years ago, simple plants began terrestrial conquest, evolving from earlier, non-vascular forms like algae.

During the Devonian, 390 million years ago, Earth witnessed the first forests. Archaeopteris, an early tree with fern-like features, dominated these landscapes, foreshadowing modern tree structures.

The Carboniferous Period is renowned for vast coal-forming swamps. Giant horsetails, ferns, and clubmosses thrived, their remains now fueling our power stations as coal.

The Permian mass extinction, 252 million years ago, dramatically reshaped plant communities. Gymnosperms, including conifers, rose to prominence as many earlier plant groups vanished.

Post-extinction, the Triassic Period saw gymnosperms diversify and spread. This era gave rise to cycads and ginkgoes, plants that still have living representatives today.

Before the rise of flowering plants, gymnosperms reigned supreme. Their diversity peaked in the Jurassic, setting the stage for the later arrival of angiosperms.

Ancient forests existed in Antarctica 250 million years ago, showcasing lush vegetation where now there's only ice.