Utrechtiaceae

Utrechtiaceae
Fossil of Utrechtia piniformis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	† Voltziales
Family:	† Utrechtiaceae Mapes & G. W. Rothwell

Utrechtiaceae is an extinct family of trees related to modern conifers. ^[1] This family dates back to the late Carboniferous and Early Permian. ^[2]

Description

They were forest trees with almost horizontal standing leafy lateral shoots and with vertical tribes. They were generally small trees. ^[2] At least with Utrechtia piniformis the side shoots are in whorls. ^[3]

Like other Voltzialean plants, they had compact ovulate cones bearing bilateral bract-scale complexes. The leaves are scale-like, arranged spirally and only a few millimeters long.

Genera

Utrechtiaceae include the following selected genera: ^{[1] [2]}

• Ernestiodendron Florin, 1934
• Lebachiella S.V. Meyen, 1997
• Ortiseia R. Florin, 1964
• Moyliostrobus C.N. Miller & J.T. Brown, 1973 : known from the Lower Permian of Texas (Moyliostrobus texanum).
• Otovicia
• Utrechtia G.W. Rothwell & G. Mapes, 2003

See also

• Data related to Voltziales at Wikispecies

References

1. GBIF
2. Voltziales (palaeos.org)
3. Early Conifers

• Paleobiology Database
• Charles B. Beck: Origin and Evolution of Gymnosperms. Columbia University Press, New York 1988 ISBN   0-231-06358-X
• Wilson Nichols Stewart, Gar W. Rothwell Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants
• G.W. Rothwell, Gene Mapes Validation of the names Utrechtiaceae, Utrechtia, and Utrechtia floriniformis
• Edith L. Taylor, Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs 1993, S. 676–679. ISBN   0-13-651589-4