Paleobotany: Perspectives in 1980

Abstract

In the past twenty years, both knowledge of fossil plants and ways of looking at the paleobotanical record have expanded significantly. Studies of Precambrian microfossils have provided insight on early photoautotrophs, while fundamental changes in perceptions of Silurian and Devonian plant remains have clarified our understanding of the colonization of land, as well as the subsequent evolution of complex stems, leaves, and the seed habit. A recurring question concerns the phylogenetic relationships of gymnosperms: is the gymnospermy found in various living and extinct taxa the result of evolutionary convergence or of common descent? Rapidly accumulating data on the reproductive and developmental biology of Paleozoic seed ferns is reopening debate on this issue. The mystery of angiosperm origins remains “abominable”, but the past two decades of research have seen convincing documentation of the initial radiation and rise to taxonomic and ecological dominance of the flowering plants.While phylogenetic and systematic botany remain at the core of paleobotanical research, increased attention is being devoted to studies of ontogeny and reproductive biology, paleoecology, taphonomy, paleophytochemistry, paleoclimatology, and paleobiogeography. Studies of evolutionary rates and diversity are in their infancy, but initial results permit an optimistic appraisal of the contributions that paleobotanists can make to evolutionary paleontology.