The discovery of permineralized glossopterid reproductive organs from Late Permian deposits in the Beardmore Glacier region (central Transantarctic Mountains) of Antarctica provides anatomical evidence for the adaxial attachment of the seeds to the megasporophyll in this important group of Late Paleozoic seed plants. The position of the seeds is in direct contradiction to many earlier descriptions, based predominantly on impression/compression remains. The attachment of the ovules on the adaxial surface of a leaf-like megasporophyll, combined with other features, such as megagametophyte development, suggests a simpler gymnospermous reproductive biology in this group than has previously been hypothesized. These findings confirm the classification of the Glossopteridales as seed ferns and are important considerations in discussions of the phylogeny of the group, including their suggested role as close relatives or possible ancestors of the angiosperms.
Taylor, E.L., Department of Plant Biology, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States; Taylor, T.N., Department of Plant Biology, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
Recommended Citation:
Taylor E.L.,Taylor T.N.. Reproductive biology of the Permian glossopteridales and their suggested relationship to flowering plants[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,1992-01-01,89(23)