Armoricaphyton
Armoricaphyton is an extinct monospecific genus of vascular land plants described from Early Devonian (late Pragian-earliest Emsian) outcrops of the Chalonnes Formation in western France.[1] The plant consists of small, leafless, longitudinally-ribbed axes that branch pseudomonopodially. Pairs of fusiform-shaped, twisted sporangia preserved as adpressions were found in association with the axes and may belong to this species.[1] Permineralized specimens reveal the oldest documented wood or secondary xylem of any known fossil plant. The water-conducting tissues or tracheids consisted of extinct P-type cell walls. This type of cell wall consisted of scalariform bordered pits and perforated sheets that covered the openings (apertures) of the pits.[1] A. chateaupannense is anatomically similar in some respects to other members of the Euphyllophytina such as Psilophyton and Franhueberia.[1] Franhueberia gerriennei is also one of the earliest land plants described from the Early Devonian (late Emsian) that was known to have wood.[2] Given the differences between Armoricaphyton and these other genera and a lack of a complete understanding of the whole plant, Armoricaphyton is currently classified as Euphyllophytina incertae sedis.[1]
Armoricaphyton | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Euphyllophytes |
Family: | incertae sedis |
Genus: | †Armoricaphyton |
References
- Strullu-Derrien, Christine; Kenrick, Paul; Tafforeau, Paul; Cochard, Hervé; Bonnemain, Jean-Louis; Le Hérissé, Alain; Lardeux, Hubert; Badel, Eric (2014). "The earliest wood and its hydraulic properties documented in c. 407-million-year-old fossils using synchrotron microtomography". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 175 (3): 423–437. doi:10.1111/boj.12175.
- Hoffman, Laurel A.; Tomescu, Alexandru M.F. (2013). "An early origin of secondary growth: Franhueberia gerriennei gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Devonian of Gaspé (Quebec, Canada)" (PDF). American Journal of Botany. 100 (4): 754–763. doi:10.3732/ajb.1300024. PMID 23535772. S2CID 33812157. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-20.