Evolution and comparison of the Gondwana flora and the Cathaysia flora

Abstract

By the Late Palaeozoic, during the Late Carboniferous and Permian, the global vegetation was distinguishable into four main geobotanical provinces: Euramerican, Angara, Gondwana and Cathaysia. The largest of these four provinces was the Gondwana Supercontinent comprising two segments- (i) Western Gondwana consisting of South America and Africa possibly Iran-Afghanistan, and (ii) Eastern Gondwana consisting of Antarctica, Australia and India. The Cathaysia flora is the main flora of the Carboniferous and the Permian mainly distributed in present-day China, Korea, Japan, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is generally accepted that a typical Gondwana flora is of Early Permian to Late Triassic in age. India and China are the most important and significant and well-studied regions for Gondwana and Cathaysia floras in Asia. A comparative account of the Gondwana and Cathaysia flora, their origin, development and extinction are reviewed and discussed in the foregoing pages. Mixed floras of Cathaysian and Gondwanian affinities from Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (Tibet) and Kashmir are also reviewed and discussed.