Jump to content

Stamnostoma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stamnostoma
Temporal range: Early Carboniferous
A reconstruction of Stamnostoma huttonense from the Early Carboniferous Cementstone Group at Foulden Newton, Berwickshire, Scotland[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pteridospermatophyta
Class: Lyginopteridopsida
Order: Lyginopteridales
Family: Moresnetiaceae
Genus: Stamnostoma
Long 1960
Species

Stamnostoma huttonense

Stamnostoma is an extinct genus of seed ferns based on cupules with seeds. These are among the earliest known seed plants and of earliest Carboniferous (Tournaisian) age.

Cupule of Stamnostoma huttonense from the Early Carboniferous Cementstone Group at Newton Foulden, Berwickshire
Fossil foliage Aneimites acadica from the Early Carboniferous Cementstone Group at Newton Foulden, Berwickshire
The Craiglieth tree, Pitus primaeva outside the Natural History Museum, London

Description

[edit]

The ovules of Stamnostoma have a complex apex with plug and cone mechanism for creating a chamber for prepollen, as in other Lyginopteridales. Several ovules are borne on an elongate open cupule of bracts.

Whole plant reconstructions

[edit]

Different organs attributed to the same original plant can be reconstructed from co-occurrence at the same localities in the Scottish Borders county of Berwickshire.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Retallack, G.J. & Dilcher, D.L (1988). "Reconstructions of selected seed ferns". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 75 (3): 1010–1057. doi:10.2307/2399379. JSTOR 2399379.