Noeggerathians †

Late Paleozoic Progymnosperms

Historically, the Noeggerathians have been classified as many different groups: cycads, equisetophytes, ferns, and progymnosperms. Well-preserved fossils from Inner Mongolia, China, indicate that they may be a heterosporous group of progymnosperms. They were successful and dominant in Permian swamps but disappeared during the Permian extinction event.

Ecology & Habit

Dominant in some tropical Permian swamps and wet lowlands
Some are interpreted as being small plants (e.g., Noeggerathia foliosa) or tufted trees
Noeggerathiales could grow on peat if it was fertilized by volcanic ash (Pfefferkorn & Wang, 2016)
They needed nutrient-rich soil, but could withstand wet–dry seasonality (Pfefferkorn & Wang, 2016)

Stems

Gymnospermous wood

Leaves

Noeggerathia bears leafy shoots with two opposite rows of leaves
- Leaves are obovate and obliquely attached to stems
Tingia, similar to Noeggerathia, with longer anisophyllous leaves born in four vertical rows (Kon'no & Asama, 1951)

Reproduction

Spore-bearing plants
Two-ranked laminate sporophylls are born at the end of the vegetative branches
- Sporangia are attached adaxially
- Slight heterospory is exhibited in sporangia (e.g., Noeggerathiaestrobus)
Bisporangiate cones with whorls of sporophylls (e.g., Discinites)
Tingiostachys are cones attached to the leaves of Tingia
- Cones fork once at the base
- Sporophylls are helically arranged and attached by a pedicel

Geologic Age

Mississippian - Late Permian

Classification

└Lignophytes

└Progymnosperms †

Noeggerathia †

Sternberg, 1821/2
Pennsylvanian–Early Permian
Leafy shoots bearing two opposite rows of leaves
Leaves are obovate and obliquely attached to the stems.
The foliar organs may be several centimeters in length and are vascularized by numerous dichotomizing veins that terminate near the margin.
Reproductive organs are produced at the ends of vegetative branches and have been termed strobili.
The basic organization consists of semicircular sporophylls that are arranged in two rows (biseriate) on either side of the cone axis; sporophylls are decurrent where they are attached to the axis
Sporangia are born on the adaxial surfaces of these disks in rows.
At least some cones are interpreted as having sterile regions along the axis (Šetlík, 1956)

N. abscissa

N. acuminifissa

N. aequalis

N. beinertiana

N. bifurca

N. bockschii

N. caryotoides

N. crassa

N. ctenoides

N. cuneifolia

N. cyclopteroides

N. dichotoma

N. dickeri

Horowitz, 1973

N. dispar

N. distans

N. dueckeriana

N. elongata

N. expansa

N. flabellata

N. foliosa [type]

N. franklinii

N. gilboensis

N. goeppertii

N. graminifolia

N. hislopii

N. intermedia

N. kikkawae

N. kutorgae

N. ludwigiana

N. macclintockii

N. media

N. microphylla

N. minor

N. obliqua

N. obovata

N. obtusa

N. ovata

N. palmiformis

N. platynervia

N. plicata

N. polaris

N. puschiana

N. pusilla

N. rueckeriana

N. spathifoliata

N. spatulata

N. speciosa

N. striata

N. sulcata

N. tenuifolia

N. tenuistriata

N. vicinalis

N. vogesiaca

N. zalesskyi

Fissunenko

N. zamitoides

Sterzel

Above: Proposed reconstruction of the whole plant Noeggerathia foliosa (Šimůnek & Bek, 2003, Figure 11)

Below: Noeggerathia intermedia (a) Fragment of a frond (Plate XI, 1). (b) Vein diagram of a pinnule (Plate XI, 2) ((Šimůnek & Bek, 2003, Figure 5)

Paratingia wudensis †

Zhang, 1987; Wang, Pfefferkorn, & Bek, 2009
Early Asselian of China
Leaves with pinnules arranged in four rows, two on upper, adaxial side of rachis and two on lower, abaxial side; pinnules of upper rows larger, spread out in one plane, forming an open angle with the rachis, alternate or occasionally subopposite, with fine marginal teeth; pinnules in basal part of leaf elliptical and symmetrical with pointed apex; pinnules in middle and upper part of leaf elongate rhomboidal slightly asymmetrical with anadromously positioned tip; pinnules with open dichotomous venation, with three to five veins arising from base, forked one to three times before becoming parallel and reaching margin; pinnules of lower side smaller, directed forward at narrow angles to rachis, basally semiamplexicaulous, distally dissected into two narrow and long teeth. Strobilus cylinder-like, basally with stalk, sometimes forked apically; sporophylls disk-shaped surrounding cone axis, distal margin dissected into elongate, tapering segments or teeth, each sporophyll with one ring of sessile sporangia on adaxial side; sporangia ellipsoidal with pointed apex; microspores trilete, amb circular to triangular; laevigate exine, rays of trilete mark with labrum; secondary folds of exine present; megaspores with circular to subcircular amb; laevigate exine; secondary folds of exine present; with an equatorial bulge. Strobili and vegetative leaves attached to common axis/stem, forming crown.

Above: Reconstruction of the small noeggerathialean tuft tree that carries the leaves and strobilus of Paratingia wudensis (Wang, Pfefferkorn, & Bek, 2009, Figure 42)

Tingia †

Halle, 1925
Permian of China
Leaf form genus similar to Noeggerathia, with longer anisophyllous leaves born in four vertical rows (Kon'no & Asama, 1951)

T. acuminifissa

T. carbonica

T. crassinervis

T. dichotoma

T. elegans

T. gerardii

T. hamaguchii

T. minor

T. oblonga

T. partita

T. trilobata

T. unita

T. yichuanensis

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