Middle Devonian Epoch

What happened during this time?

• Plants are becoming taller and more complex in anatomy, branching, and reproduction strategies

• Spore-bearing plants radiate during this time

  • Some rhyniophytes, cooksonioids, and zosterophylls still exist in the landscape, but are quickly decreasing in dominance

  • Advanced clubmosses, protolepidodendrids, found in wet/swamp-like conditions

  • Early euphyllophytes, such as Chaleuria †, Douaphyton †, Kunia †, Oocampsa †, Pertica †, and Plantanophyton †, are found in the landscape

    • This includes the early fern-like plants, the rhacophytes, as well as iridopterids, which are possibly the ancestors of the horsetails or other equisetophytes

  • Pseudosporochnalean cladoxylopsids diversify

    • First tree-like plants appear in the Eifelian with Calamophyton † that stood 6-13 feet (2-4 meters) high

    • In the Givetian, Eospermatopteris † "trees" are over 25 feet (8m) tall.

  • Aneurophytalean progymnosperms appear, growing as woody vines among taller plants

• Seed-megaspores or para-seeds appear during this time (e.g., Runcaria †, Granditetrasporites †, and Spermasporites †), which may be the ancestors to seed plants