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Arguments for a glossopterid ancestry of angiosperms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Greg Retallack and
David L. Dilcher
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Abstract

Almost every living and fossil group of gymnosperms has been proposed as a possible ancestor of angiosperms. A common problem with many of these proposals is their reliance on hypothetical intermediate forms. Another common problem is finding correctly-oriented organs homologous to all the important reproductive structures of angiosperms.

These problems are least troublesome for a glossopterid origin of angiosperms. Recently discovered ovule-bearing organs of these plants may represent evolutionary intermediates, or analogous plants, between glossopterids and angiosperms. According to recent reinterpretations of glossopterid ovule-bearing organs, they have structures in an orientation which may be homologous with both the outer ovular integument and the carpel of angiosperms. Considering the reproductive and vegetative features of glossopterids, the hypothesis that they may be part of a stock ancestral to angiosperms should be seriously considered.

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Paleobiology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , Winter 1981, pp. 54 - 67
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Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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