Sigillaria is a genus of extinct, spore-bearing, arborescent (tree-like) plants which flourished in the Late
CarboniferousThe Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Ma , to the beginning of the Permian period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Ma ....
period but dwindled to extinction in the early
PermianThe Permian
[The term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named...]
period. It was a
lycopodiophyteThe Division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. It is the oldest extant vascular plant division at around 420 million years old, and includes some of the most "primitive" extant species...
, and is related to the lycopsids, or club-mosses, but even more closely to
quillwortIsoëtes, also written Isoetes and commonly known as the quillworts, is the genus of plants in the class Isoetopsida and order Isoetales. The order Isoetales is sometimes placed in the class Isoetopsida, sometimes in the Selaginellopsida or Lycopsida. They are considered "fern allies"...
s, as was its associate
LepidodendronLepidodendron is an extinct genus of primitive, vascular, arborescent plant related to the Lycopsids . It was part of the coal forest flora. They sometimes reached heights of over , and the trunks were often over in diameter, and thrived during the Carboniferous period...
.
Sigillaria was a tree-like plant, with a tall, occasionally forked trunk that lacked wood. Support came from a layer of closely packed leaf bases just below the surface of the trunk, while the center was filled with pith.
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Sigillaria is a genus of extinct, spore-bearing, arborescent (tree-like) plants which flourished in the Late
CarboniferousThe Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Ma , to the beginning of the Permian period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Ma ....
period but dwindled to extinction in the early
PermianThe Permian
[The term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named...]
period. It was a
lycopodiophyteThe Division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. It is the oldest extant vascular plant division at around 420 million years old, and includes some of the most "primitive" extant species...
, and is related to the lycopsids, or club-mosses, but even more closely to
quillwortIsoëtes, also written Isoetes and commonly known as the quillworts, is the genus of plants in the class Isoetopsida and order Isoetales. The order Isoetales is sometimes placed in the class Isoetopsida, sometimes in the Selaginellopsida or Lycopsida. They are considered "fern allies"...
s, as was its associate
LepidodendronLepidodendron is an extinct genus of primitive, vascular, arborescent plant related to the Lycopsids . It was part of the coal forest flora. They sometimes reached heights of over , and the trunks were often over in diameter, and thrived during the Carboniferous period...
.
Sigillaria was a tree-like plant, with a tall, occasionally forked trunk that lacked wood. Support came from a layer of closely packed leaf bases just below the surface of the trunk, while the center was filled with pith. The old leaf bases expanded as the trunk grew in width, and left a diamond-shaped pattern, which is evident in fossils. The trunk had photosynthetic tissue on the surface, meaning that it was probably green.
The trunk was topped with a plume of long, grass-like,
microphyllThe terminology of fossil plants is in places a little confusing. In the discipline's 200+ year history, certain concepts have become entrenched, even though improved understanding has threatened the foundations upon which they are based...
ous leaves, so that the plant looked somewhat like a tall, forked
bottlebrushBottlebrush is a genus with 34 species of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. The majority of Callistemon species are endemic to Australia; four species are also found in New Caledonia. They are commonly referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers resembling a...
. The plant bore its spores (not seeds) in cone-like structures attached to the stem.
Sigillaria, like many ancient lycopods, had a relatively short life cycle - growing rapidly and reaching maturity in a few years.
Some have suggested that
Sigillaria was
monocarpicMonocarpic plants are those that flower, set seeds and then die. Other terms with the same meaning are hapaxanth and semelparous. The term was first used by Alphonse de Candolle....
, meaning that it died after reproduction, though this is not proven. It was associated with
LepidodendronLepidodendron is an extinct genus of primitive, vascular, arborescent plant related to the Lycopsids . It was part of the coal forest flora. They sometimes reached heights of over , and the trunks were often over in diameter, and thrived during the Carboniferous period...
, the scale tree, in the
CarboniferousThe Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Ma , to the beginning of the Permian period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Ma ....
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
swamps.
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