Baragwanathia longifolia

From Freepedia

Baragwanathia longifolia is an ancient and extict species of vascular plant. It is known from fossils found in Australia. It was club moss like in appearance with branched stems 10-20 cm in length.

The date is some what uncertain, but is seems to date from the Mid-Silurian period, about 420 million years ago, making it among the earliest vascular plants known, and the earliest known with leaves. Some authorities place it somewhat more recently, at the start of the Devonian. The plant shows some surprisingly advanced features, including the needle-like leaves. Sporangia (spore bearing structures) are sometimes found in the axils of the leaves.

The fossils were first studied by Isabel Clifton Cookson.

References

• Old land plants
• The age of the earliest club mosses; the Silurian Baragwanathia flora in Victoria, Australia

Geological Magazine (March 2000), 137(2):207-209