Major Emergence of Seed Plants

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the emergence of seed plants and environmental changes during the Permian.

Cordaitales

An early group of seed plants established by the middle Carboniferous.

Pteridosperms

An early group of seed plants prevalent in the Carboniferous period.

Gymnosperms

Seed plants that do not produce flowers, dominant in flora during the Permian.

Pangea

Supercontinent formed during the late Permian due to continental collisions.

Aridification

Process of becoming increasingly dry, characteristic of the Permian climate.

Cycadales

Group of ancient seed plants known as cycads, with both living and fossil representatives.

Ginkgoales

Group of seed plants that includes the modern Ginkgo biloba, recognized for its unique leaves.

Bennettitales

Extinct group of seed plants with morphological similarities to cycads, known for their peculiar reproductive structures.

Glossopteridaceae

A group of seed ferns that dominated the flora of Gondwana during the Permian.

Gnetales

A small group of seed plants that include the genera Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia.

Megasporophylls

Modified leaves that bear ovules in cycads and other seed plants.

Microsporophylls

Modified leaves that bear pollen sacs in male reproductive structures of seed plants.

Euphyllophyte

Clade that includes plants with megaphylls, characteristic of cycads and other advanced groups.

Anthophyte hypothesis

The theory that posits Gnetales as the closest living relatives of angiosperms.

Zoidogamous pollination

A type of pollination seen in Ginkgo and cycads, where swimming sperm fertilizes the female gametes.

Deciduous

Plants that shed their leaves annually, characteristic of many Permian flora.

Calcrete

Soil deposits indicating past arid conditions, formed from calcium carbonate accumulation.