Home / Articles in Palaeobotany / Cretaceous Palaeobotany

K.L. Alvin et al. (1981): Anatomy and palaeoecology of Pseudofrenelopsis and associated conifers in the English Wealden. PDF file, Palaeontology, 24: 759-778.
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! J.M. Anderson et al. (1999): Patterns of Gondwana plant colonisation and diversification. In PDF, Journal of African Earth Sciences, 28: 145-167.
See also here.

A. Andruchow-Colombo et al. (2022): New genus of Cupressaceae from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia (Argentina) fills a gap in the evolution of the ovuliferous complex in the family. In PDF, Journal of Systematics and Evolution.
See also here.

! Arctic Plant Fossils (hosted by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences).
This interactive illustrated catalogue of Cretaceous and Paleogene Arctic plant fossils is the outcome of a project from the United States Geological Survey and administered through the University of Oxford, UK, and the Imperial College, London.
Images of the fossils and information on where they were found can be accessed through interactive maps,
or navigating the site by means of tables of taxonomic names (if known), museum collections or the collectors and researchers who worked on them. Excellent!

The L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University: Paleobotanical Holdings at the Bailey Hortorium. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Go to: Cretaceous Fossils. Articles with numerous photographs.

M. Barbacka et al. (2022): Polish Palaeobotany: 750 Million Years of Plant History as Revealed in a Century of Studies. Mesozoic Macroflora. Open access, Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 91.
See also here.
Note figure 4: A reconstruction of Patokaea silesiaca.
Figure 10. Leaves of selected Late Cretaceous plants from Poland.

A. Bartiromo (2012): The cuticle micromorphology of extant and fossil plants as indicator of environmental conditions: A pioneer study on the influence of volcanic gases on the cuticle structure in extant plants. Dissertation, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon.

M.E.P. Batista et al. (2020): A New Species of Brachyphyllum from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Araripe Basin, Brazil. In PDF, Ameghiniana, 57: 519-533. See also here.

M.E.P. Batista et al. (2017): New data on the stem and leaf anatomy of two conifers from the Lower Cretaceous of the Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil, and their taxonomic and paleoecological implications. Open access, PLoS ONE, 12.

BBC News, Friday, 3 May, 2002: "Oldest flower" found in China.

C.M. Belcher and V.A. Hudspith (2017): Changes to Cretaceous surface fire behaviour influenced the spread of the early angiosperms. New Phytologist, 213: 1521–1532.

Michael Bernstein, Washington and New Orleans, March 21-27, 2003: (American Chemical Society, EurekAlert): Scientists find evidence for crucial root in the history of plant evolution.

A.C. Bippus (2018): Extending the fossil record of the Polytrichaceae (Bryophyta): insights from the early Cretaceous of Vancouver Island, Canada. In PDF, thesis, Humboldt State University, Arcata, Canada. See also here.

H.J.B. Birks (2020): Angiosperms versus gymnosperms in the Cretaceous. Open access, PNAS, 117: 30879-30881.

C. Blanco-Moreno and Á.D. Buscalioni (2023): Revision of the Barremian fern Coniopteris laciniata from Las Hoyas and El Montsec (Spain): Highlighting its importance in the evolution of vegetation during the Early Cretaceous. Open access, Taxon. Note figure 8: Whole plant schematic reconstruction showing general habit and pinnule morphological diversity.
"... The similarities between these species [Coniopteris laciniata and Sphenopteris wonnacottii], observed in a study of a total of 66 hand specimens from both localities, indicate that they are conspecific ..."

C. Blanco-Moreno et al. (2022): Quantitative plant taphonomy: the cosmopolitan Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata as a case study. Open access, Palaeontology, 65.
Note figure 7: Taphonomic model proposed for Weichselia reticulata.
"... In the case of the specimens of Weichselia reticulata included in this work, charred remains are the most frequent preservation type ..."

C. Blanco-Moreno et al. (2019): A novel approach for the metric analysis of fern fronds: Growth and architecture of the Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata in the light of modern ferns. Open access, PLoS ONE, 14: e0219192.

B. Blonder et al. (2014): Plant Ecological Strategies Shift Across the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary. Open acces, PLoS Biol, 12.

! B. Bomfleur et al. (2023): Fossil mosses from the Early Cretaceous Catefica mesofossil flora, Portugal–a window into the Mesozoic history of Bryophytes. In PDF, Fossil Imprint, 79: 103–125.
See likewise here.
"... A diverse assemblage of mosses from the Early Cretaceous Catefica mesofossil flora, Portugal, is described based on fragments of charcoalified and lignitized gametophytes and a single spore capsule ..."

W.J. Bond and A.C. Scott (2010): Fire and the spread of flowering plants in the Cretaceous. In PDF, New Phytologist, 188: 1137-1150.

! H. Boukhamsin et al. (2023): Early Cretaceous angiosperm radiation in northeastern Gondwana: Insights from island biogeography theory. Free access, Earth-Science Reviews, 242.

J. Bres et al. (2021): The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining _pCO₂: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits. Free access, Biogeosciences, 18: 5729–5750.
"... we show that protoangiosperm physiology does not allow vegetation to grow under low _pCO₂
[...] confirms the hypothesis of a likely evolution of angiosperms from a state of low leaf hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities at high _pCO₂ to a state of high leaf hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities linked to leaves with more and more veins together ..."

The palaeofiles. Articles here have all been prepared by students on the palaeobiology programmes in Bristol:
! The origin and evolution of angiosperms.
Now provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! S.A.E. Brown et al. (2012): Cretaceous wildfires and their impact on the Earth system. In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 36: 162-190.
See alo here.
Note figure 2: Fire products from surface and crown fires.
Figure 3: Geographic distribution of charcoal mesofossil assemblages and inertinite (charcoal in coal) at three Cretaceous time intervals.
Table 1: Geographic distribution of charcoal mesofossil assemblages and inertinite (charcoal in coal) at three Cretaceous time intervals.

MSc Palaeobiology Students, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, (the author's name appears on the title page for each section): Fossil Lagerstätten. A catalogue of sites of exceptional fossil preservation. Go to: Santana Formation, Fauna and Flora (e.g. a Cheiroledpidiaceous conifer); Mazon Creek, Fauna and Flora (Lepidodendron, Lepidostrobophyllum, Lepidophyllum, Calamites, Asterophyllites equisetiformis, Spenophyllum, Equisetites, Pecopteris, Asterotheca, Alethopteris, Diplothmema).

L. Burgener et al. (2023): Cretaceous climates: Mapping paleo-Köppen climatic zones using a Bayesian statistical analysis of lithologic, paleontologic, and geochemical proxies. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 613.
See likewise here.
Note figure 1: Global map of Campanian (83.6-72.1 Ma) mean annual temperature data points and the 1444 resulting interpolated mean annual temperature map.
Figure 6: Modern climate zones as defined by the paleo-Köppen climate classification system.

R.J. Burnham and K.R. Johnson (2004): South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests. In PDF, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B 359: 1595-1610.

R.J. Butler et al. (2009): Diversity patterns amongst herbivorous dinosaurs and plants during the Cretaceous: implications for hypotheses of dinosaur/angiosperm co-evolution. Free access, Journal of Evolutionary Biol., 22: 446-459.

M.J. Butrim et al. (2022): No Consistent Shift in Leaf Dry Mass per Area Across the Cretaceous—Paleogene Boundary. Front. Plant Sci., 13:894690. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.894690. See also here.

M.A. Carizzo et al. (2019): Cuticle ultrastructure in Brachyphyllum garciarum sp. nov (Lower Cretaceous, Argentina) reveals its araucarian affinity. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 269: 104-128. See also here (in PDF).

Note fig. 7: Brachyphyllum garciarum sp. nov. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the cuticles.

! M.R. Carvalho et al. (2021): Extinction at the end-Cretaceous and the origin of modern Neotropical rainforests Science, 372: 63–68. See also here (in PDF).
"... Plant diversity declined by 45% at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary and did not recover for ~6 million years. ..."
Please take notice: Wie der Asteroid den Regenwald prägte. Wissenschaft.de, in German.

C. Chinnappa and A. Rajanikanth (2017): Early Cretaceous flora from the Pranhita-Godavari Basin (east coast of India): taxonomic, taphonomic and palaeoecological considerations. In PDF, Acta Palaeobotanica, 57: 13–32.

C. Chinnappa et al. (2014): Gymnosperm fossils from the Gangapur Formation (Early Cretaceous) of Adilabad District, Telangana, India. In PDF, Geophytology, 44: 91-104.

C. Coiffard et al. (2023): The emergence of the tropical rainforest biome in the Cretaceous. Free access, Biogeosciences, 20: 1145–1154.
See also: Einem frühen Regenwald auf der Spur. In German, Wissenschaft.de.

C. Coiffard et al. (2012): Deciphering Early Angiosperm Landscape Ecology Using a Clustering Method on Cretaceous Plant Assemblages. In PDF.

B. Cornet: Why do Paleobotanists Believe in a Cretaceous Origin of Angiosperms? A controversial topic. This website presents palaeobotanical evidence on the origin of flowering plants, with evidence for and against a Cretaceous origin. See also: Angiosperm Evolution.
Websites still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

! W.L. Crepet and K.J. Niklas (2009): Darwin´s second "abominable mystery": Why are there so many angiosperm species? Open access, American Journal of Botany, 96: 366-381.

N.R. Cúneo et al. (2014): Late Cretaceous Aquatic Plant World in Patagonia, Argentina. Open access, PLoS ONE, 9: e104749.

Charles Daghlian (Dartmouth College, Hannover, NH) and Jennifer Svitko, Paleobotanical Holdings at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University: Paleoclusia 3D Reconstructions. Movies from CT scans done on the Turonian fossils. See also here (W.L. Crepet and K.C. Nixon 1998, abstract and photos).

H.J. de Boer et al. (2012): A critical transition in leaf evolution facilitated the Cretaceous angiosperm revolution. In PDF, Nature Communications, 3. See also here.

! Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, Colorado: DMNS Paleobotany Collection. This website contains over 1000 images of fossil plants spanning the late Cretaceous through early Eocene from the Western Interior of North America. Go to: Identification Flow Chart, or start with Morphotype a Flora. A guide to morphotyping (or binning) a fossil flora step-by-step.

David Dilcher (2000): Toward a new synthesis: Major evolutionary trends in the angiosperm fossil record. PDF file, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 97: 7030-7036. See also here.

C. Dong et al. (2022): Leaves of Taxus with cuticle micromorphology fromthe Early Cretaceous of eastern Inner Mongolia, Northeast China. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 298.
See also here.

J.A. Doyle and P.K. Endress (2014): Integrating Early Cretaceous Fossils into the Phylogeny of Living Angiosperms: ANITA Lines and Relatives of Chloranthaceae Int. J. Plant Sci., 175: 555–600. See also here.

H. El Atfy et al. (2019): Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt. Open access, Journal of Palaeogeography, 8.

A. Elgorriagaa and B.A. Atkinson (2023): Cretaceous pollen cone with three-dimensional preservation sheds light on the morphological evolution of cycads in deep time. In PDF, New Phytologist, 238: 1695-1710.
See also here.
"... We report a permineralized pollen cone from the Campanian Holz Shale located in Silverado Canyon, CA, USA
[...] Our findings support a Cretaceous diversification for crown-group Zamiaceae ..."

Beth Ellis et al. (2009): Manual of Leaf Architecture. Book announcement. The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
! See also here and there.

I.H. Escapa et al. (2016): A new species of Athrotaxites (Athrotaxoideae, Cupressaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous Raritan Formation, New Jersey, USA. In PDF, Botany, 94: 831–845.

H.J. Falcon-Lang et. al. (2016): The oldest Pinus and its preservation by fire. Abstract, Geology, 44: 303-306. See also here (in PDF).

H.J. Falcon-Lang et al. (2004): Palaeoecology of Late Cretaceous polar vegetation preserved in the Hansen Point Volcanics, NW Ellesmere Island, Canada. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 212: 45-64.

T.L. Fletcher et al. (2015): Wood growth indices as climate indicators from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) portion of the Winton Formation, Australia. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 417: 35-43.
See likewise here.

J.E. Francis et al. (2007): 100 million years of Antarctic climate evolution: evidence from fossil plants. In PDF. Related Publications from ANDRILL Affiliates. Paper 3.
Pay attention to fig. 3, reconstruction of the forest environment on Alexander Island during the Cretaceous.

Jane E. Francis and Imogen Poole (2002): Cretaceous and early Tertiary climates of Antarctica: evidence from fossil wood. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 182: 47-64.

! E.M. Friis et al. (2019): The Early Cretaceous Mesofossil Flora of Torres Vedras (Ne of Forte Da Forca), Portugal: A Palaeofloristic Analysis of an Early Angiosperm Community. Open access, Fossil Imprint, 75: 153–257. See also here (in PDF).
"... the oldest mesofossil flora containing angiosperm remains to be described in detail based on well-preserved flower, fruit and seed remains. It provides the most detailed information currently available on the structural diversity of angiosperms at this early stage in their evolution, the range of angiosperm species present, and their relationships to extant angiosperm lineages. ..."

E.M. Friis et al. (2015): Exceptional preservation of tiny embryos documents seed dormancy in early angiosperms. In PDF, Nature, 528: 551-554. See also here.

! E.M. Friis et al. (2014): Three-dimensional visualization of fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, and other plant remains using synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM): new insights into Cretaceous plant diversity. In PDF, Journal of Paleontology, 88: 684–701.

! E.M. Friis et al. (2013): New Diversity among Chlamydospermous Seeds from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal and North America. Free accesss, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174: 530–558.
"... The material is based on numerous charcoalified and lignitic specimens recovered from Early Cretaceous mesofossil floras [...]
! Attenuation-based synchrotron-radiation x-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) and phase-contrast x-ray tomographic microscopy (PCXTM) were carried out [...]
! Volume rendering (voltex), which provides transparent reconstructions, was also used for the virtual sections ..."

Else Marie Friis, Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen and Peter R. Crane (2010): Diversity in obscurity: fossil flowers and the early history of angiosperms. PDF file, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 365: 369-382. Some of the specimens are charcoalified and have retained their original three-dimensional shape. See also here.

Else Marie Friis, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm: Cretaceous angiosperms from Europe and North America (Silvianthemum suecicum), and Cretaceous angiosperms from Kazakhstan.
Snapshots taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! M.W. Frohlich & M.W. Chase (2007): After a dozen years of progress the origin of angiosperms is still a great mystery. In PDF, Nature, 450: 1184-1189.
See also here.

W.V. Gobo et al. (2023): A new remarkable Early Cretaceous nelumbonaceous fossil bridges the gap between herbaceous aquatic and woody protealeans. Open access, Scientific Reports, 13.
Note figure 9: Reconstruction of Notocyamus hydrophobus gen. nov. et sp. nov. in its likely environment.

B. Gomez et al. (2015): Montsechia, an ancient aquatic angiosperm. In PDF, PNAS, 112: 10985–10988. See alao here.
Note Fig. 3: Reconstructions of Montsechia vidalii.

S.F. Greb et al. (2006): Evolution and Importance of Wetlands in Earth History. PDF file, In: DiMichele, W.A., and Greb, S., eds., Wetlands Through Time: Geological Society of America, Special Publication, 399: 1-40.
Rhacophyton and Archaeopteris in a Devonian wetland as well as Pennsylvanian, Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous wetland plant reconstructions.
Note figure 1: Evolution of wetland types in the Silurian and Devonian.
See also here.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

G. Guignard et al. (2024): TEM and EDS characterization in a Bennettitalean cuticle from the Lower Cretaceous Springhill Formation, Argentina. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 320.
Note figure 7: Three-dimensional reconstruction of lower and upper cuticles of Ptilophyllum eminelidarum.
"New cuticle samples from the bennettitalean Ptilophyllum eminelidarum were herein studied using the combination of light microscopy (LM), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), and element analysis by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) ..."

! P.S. Herendeen et al. (2017): Palaeobotanical redux: revisiting the age of the angiosperms. In PDF, Nature Plants 3. See also here.

! Z. Hermanová et al. (2021): Plant mesofossils from the Late Cretaceous Klikov Formation, the Czech Republic. Open access, Fossil Imprint, 77.
"... The fossils are charcoalified or lignitised, and usually three-dimensionally preserved. ..."

F. Herrera et al. (2022): A permineralized Early Cretaceous lycopsid from China and the evolution of crown clubmosses. In PDF, New Phytologist, 233: 2310-2322.
See also here.

F. Herrera et al. (2020): Reconstructing Krassilovia mongolica supports recognition of a new and unusual group of Mesozoic conifers. Open access, PLoS ONE, 15: e0226779.
Note figs 6, 7: Reconstructions of Krassilovia mongolica. Drawings: Pollyanna von Knorring.

F. Herrera et al. (2018): Exceptionally well-preserved Early Cretaceous leaves of Nilssoniopteris from central Mongolia. Open access, Acta Palaeobotanica, 58: 135–157. See also here.

F. Herrera et al. (2017): An exquisitely preserved filmy fern (Hymenophyllaceae) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 104: 1370-1381. See also here (in PDF).

F. Herrera et al. (2017): The presumed ginkgophyte Umaltolepis has seed-bearing structures resembling those of Peltaspermales and Umkomasiales. In PDF, PNAS, 114. See also here.
See fig. 4: Reconstruction of Umaltolepis mongoliensis sp. nov. showing four seed-bearing structures and attached Pseudotorellia resinosa leaves.

F. Herrera et al. (2015): A New Voltzian Seed Cone from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and Its Implications for the Evolution of Ancient Conifers. In PDF, Int. J. Plant Sci., 176: 791-809.

! Norman F. Hughes (1994): The Enigma of Angiosperm Origins. 405 pages. Provided by Cambridge University Press through the Google Print Publisher Program.
See also here.

T.H. Jefferson (1982): Fossil forests from the lower Cretaceous of Alexander Island, Antarctica. PDF file, Palaeontology, 25: 681-708.
A standing-tree fossil forest.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

N.A. Jud (2015): Fossil evidence for a herbaceous diversification of early eudicot angiosperms during the Early Cretaceous. In PDF, Proc. R. Soc., B, 282. See also here.

N.A. Jud et al. (2018): A new fossil assemblage shows that large angiosperm trees grew in North America by the Turonian (Late Cretaceous). In PDF, Sci. Adv., 4: eaar8568.
"A large silicified log (maximum preserved diameter, 1.8 m; estimated height, ca. 50 m) is assigned to the genus Paraphyllanthoxylon; it is the largest known pre-Campanian angiosperm and the earliest documented occurrence of an angiosperm tree more than 1.0 m in diameter."

N.A. Jud and L.J. Hickey (2013): Potomacapnos apeleutheron gen. et sp. nov., a new Early Cretaceous angiosperm from the Potomac Group and its implications for the evolution of eudicot leaf architecture. In PDF, Am. J. Bot., see also here.

J.E. Kalyniuk et al. (2023): The Albian vegetation of central Alberta as a food source for the nodosaurid Borealopelta markmitchelli. Free access, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 611.

J.P. Klages et al. (2020): Temperate rainforests near the South Pole during peak Cretaceous warmth. In PDF, Nature, 580: 81-86. See also here.
Note fig. 3: Reconstruction of the West Antarctic Turonian–Santonian temperate rainforest.

D.S. Kopylov et al. (2020): The Khasurty Fossil Insect Lagerstätte. In PDF, Paleontological Journal, 54: 1221–1394. See also here.
Worth checking out:
Starting on page 1350 (PDF page 130): Bryophyta and Marchantiophyta. Mosses and Liverworts (by Y.S. Mamontov and M.S. Ignatov).
Starting on page 1364 (PDF page 144): Trachaeophyta. Vascular Plants (by N.V. Bazhenova).

V.A. Krassilov et al. (1998): New ephedroid plant from the Lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Victoria, Australia. In PDF, Alcheringa, 22: 123-133. See also here.

L. Kunzmann et al. (2011): A putative gnetalean gymnosperm Cariria orbiculiconiformis gen. nov. et spec. nov. from the Early Cretaceous of northern Gondwana. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 165: 75–95. See also here.

E. Kustatscher et al. (2013): Early Cretaceous araucarian driftwood from hemipelagic sediments of the Puez area, South Tyrol, Italy. Free access, Cretaceous research, 41: 270-276.
Note figure 2A: A polished transverse section with some teredinid molluscan borings.

J. Kvacek and A. Cernanský (2023): Early Cretaceous Equisetites from Slovakia. Open access, Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-023-00596-w.

J. Kvacek et al. (2005): A new Late Cretaceous ginkgoalean reproductive structure Nehvizdyella gen. nov. from the Czech Republic and its whole-plant reconstruction. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 92: 1958-1969.

M.A. Lafuente Diaz et al. (2021): Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Studies of Cretaceous Gymnosperms from the Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Abstract, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 182.
Note likewise here (in PDF).
"... The fossils consist of foliar compressions with very well-preserved cuticles, which are chemically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
[...] The compressions [...] probably underwent, during and after diagenesis, a natural oxidation process most likely caused by the recurrent volcanic activity that occurred during the Aptian sedimentation ..."

R. Li et al. (2014): Marchantites huolinhensis sp. nov. (Marchantiales) - A new fossil liverwort with gemma cups from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China. In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 50: 16-26.

Z.-J. Liu et al. (2021): A whole-plant monocot from the Lower Cretaceous. Free access, Palaeoworld, 30: 169-175.
Note fig. 5: Reconstruction of Sinoherba ningchengensis, a herbaceous plant composed of a root with fibrous rootlets borne on the nodes, a stem with leaves and axillary branches on the nodes and inflorescences.

! A.M. López-Martínez et al. (2023): Angiosperm flowers reached their highest morphological diversity early in their evolutionary history. Open access, New Phytologist, 241: 1348–1360. doi: 10.1111/nph.19389.
"... Based on a comprehensive dataset focusing on 30 characters describing floral structure across angiosperms, we used 1201 extant and 121 fossil flowers to measure floral disparity and explore patterns of floral evolution through time and across lineages ..."

! S. Magallón (2009): Flowering plants (Magnoliophyta). PDF file, In: S.B. Hedges and S. Kumar (eds.): The Timetree of Life (see here).

! J. Manfroi et al. (2023): “Antarctic on fire”: Paleo-wildfire events associated with volcanic deposits in the Antarctic Peninsula during the Late Cretaceous. Free access, Front. Earth Sci., 11: 1048754. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1048754.
"... This indicates that fire and active volcanism were significant modifiers of the ecological niches of austral floras, because even in distal areas, the source of ignition for forest fires often came from contact with a hot volcanic ash cloud, where the vegetation was either totally or partially consumed by fire ..."
Note figure 4: Detailed field photographs of part of the Price Point deposition showing the two carbonaceous levels (lenses of charcoal in tuffite).
Figure 6: Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of austral areas under the influence of paleo-wildfires promoted by the Campanian active volcanism.

J. Marmi et al. (2023): Evolutionary history, biogeography, and extinction of the Cretaceous cheirolepidiaceous conifer, Frenelopsis. Free access, Evolving Earth, 1.

J. Marmi et al. (2015): A riparian plant community from the upper Maastrichtian of the Pyrenees (Catalonia, NE Spain). In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 56: 510-529. See also here.

L.C.A. Martínez et al. (2012): A new cycad stem from the Cretaceous in Argentina and its phylogenetic relationships with other Cycadales. Free access, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 3: 436–458.

J. Marugán-Lobón et al. (2023): The Las Hoyas Lagerstätte: a palaeontological view of an Early Cretaceous wetland. Free access, Journal of the Geological Society, 180. https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2022-079.

N.P. Maslova and A.B. Herman (2015): Approach to Identification of Fossil Angiosperm Leaves: Applicability and Significance of Krassilov´s Morphological System. In PDF, Botanica Pacifica, 4: 103–108.

K.K.S. Matsunaga et al. (2021): Ovulate Cones of Schizolepidopsis ediae sp. nov. Provide Insights into the Evolution of Pinaceae. Free access, Int. J. Plant Sci., 182: 490–507.

! C. Mays et al. (2019): The botanical provenance and taphonomy of Late Cretaceous Chatham amber, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 260: 16–26. See also here.

C. Mays et al. (2017): Polar wildfires and conifer serotiny during the Cretaceous global hothouse. In PDF, Geology, 45: 1119-1122. See also here.

S. McLoughlin et al. (2008): Seed ferns survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction in Tasmania. Open access, American Journal of Botany, 95: 465-471.

M.M. Mendes et al. (2018): Some Conifers from The Early Cretaceous (Late Aptian–Early Albian) of Catefica, Lusitanian Basin, Western Portugal. Free access, Fossil Imprint, 74: 317–326.

M.M. Mendes et al. (2014): Vegetational composition of the Early Cretaceous Chicalhão flora (Lusitanian Basin, western Portugal) based on palynological and mesofossil assemblages. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 200: 65-81. See also here (abstract).

B.A.R. Mohr and H. Eklund&xnbsp;(2003): Araripia florifera, a magnoliid angiosperm from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (Brazil). In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 126: 279-292. See also here.
Note figure 3: Araripia florifera nov. gen. nov. spec., tentative reconstruction.

J.D. Moreau and D. Néraudeau (2023): Amber and plants from the Upper Cretaceous of La Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien (Charente-Maritime, Western France). Free access, Comptes Rendus. Palevol, 22.
See also here.

D. Oakley et al. (2009): Morphometric analysis of some Cretaceous angiosperm woods and their extant structural and phylogenetic analogues: Implications for systematics. PDF file, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 157: 375-390.
See also here.

G.L. Osés (2016): Taphonomy of fossil groups from the crato member (Santana Formation), Araripe Basin, Early Cretaceous, North-east Brasil): geobiological, palaeoecological, and palaeoenvironmental implications. In PDF, Dissertation, Instituto de Geociências, São Paulo. See also here (abstract).

M.G. Passalia et al. (2023): The Valcheta Petrified Forest (Upper Cretaceous), northern Patagonia, Argentina: A geological and paleobotanical survey. In PDF, Journal of South American Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105395.
See also here.

! M. Philippe et al. (2008): Woody or not woody? Evidence for early angiosperm habit from the Early Cretaceous fossil wood record of Europe. PDF file, Palaeoworld, 17: 142-152.
See also here.

Tõnu Ploompuu, Biology, Tallinn Pedagogical University, Tallinn, Estonia: Resting and active evolution. Possible preadaptations in the early evolution of Angiosperms. See also here.

George Poinar and Greg Poinar (2018): The antiquity of floral secretory tissues that provide today’s fragrances. Abstract, Historical Biology. See also:
Schnupperten schon Dinos Blumenduft? Kreidezeitliche Blütenpflanzen könnten bereits Düfte produziert haben. In German, Scinexx.de.

! C. Pott (2021): First record of intact equisetalean strobili from the Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, southern England. Free access, Fossil Imprint, 77: 43–52.

! C. Pott et al. (2012): Baikalophyllum lobatum and Rehezamites anisolobus: Two Seed Plants with "Cycadophyte" Foliage from the Early Cretaceous of Eastern Asia. In PDF, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 173: 192-208.
See likewise here.
Paper awarded with the Remy and Remy Award 2012, Botanical Society of America.

G.G. Puebla et al. (2017): Fossil record of Ephedra in the lower cretaceous (Aptian), Argentina. In PDF, Journal of plant research, 130: 975–988.
See also here.

A.C. Ribeiro et al. (2021): Towards an actualistic view of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte paleoenvironment: a new hypothesis as an Early Cretaceous (Aptian) equatorial and semi-arid wetland. Abstract, Earth-Science Reviews, 216.
"... The Aptian Crato Formation of the Lower Cretaceous Santana Group [...] Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil, is renowned worldwide owing to its exceptionally preserved fossils
[...] Most fossils are to be considered autochthonous to parautochthonous and have been preserved in distinct stages of base-level fluctuations within a shallow lacustrine depositional system, subject to periodic flooding in large, depressed areas ..."

E.A. Roberts (2019): The Early Cretaceous Crato Formation Gymnosperms of North-east Brazil. PDF file, Thesis, School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, UK.

I. Rodríguez-Barreiro et al. (2023): Palynological reconstruction of the habitat and diet of Iguanodon bernissartensis in the Lower Cretaceous Morella Formation, NE Iberian Peninsula. Free access, Cretaceous Research, 156.
Note figure 1: Paleogeographical map of western Europe for the late Barremian-early Aptian interval.
"... To elucidate the paleoenvironment of the Palau-3 site, a palynological analysis was carried out on matrix samples collected from around the skeleton. The palynological assemblage is found to correspond to an upper Barremian age.
[...] the palynoflora is mostly dominated by the Cheirolepidiaceae conifer (Classopollis) and Anemiaceae fern (mainly Cicatricosisporites) families. The absence of angiosperm pollen in this flora is also noteworthy ..."

! G.W. Rothwell And R. Stockey (2023): Anatomically preserved early Cretaceous lycophyte shoots; enriching the paleontological record of Lycopodiales and Selaginellales. In PDF, Acta Palaeobotanica, 63: 119–128.
See also here.
"... The Selaginella specimens represent the first anatomically preserved Selaginellales with excellent internal cellular preservation in the fossil record
[...] These fossils document that species with diagnostic internal anatomy of modern Lycopodiales and Selaginellales evolved no later than the Valanginian of the early Cretaceous ..."

A. Savoretti et al. (2019): Grimmiaceae in the Early Cretaceous: Tricarinella crassiphylla gen. et sp. nov. and the value of anatomically preserved bryophytes. In PDF, Annals of botany. See also here.

! A.R. Schmidt et al. (2022): Selaginella in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Open access, Willdenowia, 52: 179–245.
Breathtaking photographs showing mid-Cretaceous plant remains in amber!

H. Schneider et al. (2016): Burmese amber fossils bridge the gap in the Cretaceous record of polypod ferns. In PDF, Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 18: 70–78. See also here (abstract).

G.W.K. Shelton et al. (2015): Exploring the fossil history of pleurocarpous mosses: Tricostaceae fam. nov. from the Cretaceous of Vancouver Island, Canada. In PDF, American Journal of Botany.

C. Shi et al. (2022): Fire-prone Rhamnaceae with South African affinities in Cretaceous Myanmar amber. In PDF, Nature Plants, 8: 125–135.
See also here.
"... We report the discovery of two exquisitely preserved fossil flower species, one identical to the inflorescences of the extant crown-eudicot genus Phylica and the other recovered as a sister group to Phylica, both preserved as inclusions together with burned plant remains in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (~99 million years ago) ..."

G. Shi et al. (2021): Mesozoic cupules and the origin of the angiosperm second integument: In PDF, Nature, 2021. See also here.

G. Shi et al. (2019): Diversity and homologies of corystosperm seed-bearing structures from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Abstract, See also here (in PDF).
Note figure 12: Reconstruction of a shoot of Umkomasia mongolica.
Note figure 13: Reconstructions of the seed-bearing units of Umkomasia mongolica, Umkomasia corniculata and Umkomasia trilobata.

! G. Shi et al. (2016): Early Cretaceous Umkomasia from Mongolia: implications for homology of corystosperm cupules. In PDF, New Phytologist, 210: 1418–1429. See also here.

M. Slodownik et al. (2021): Fossil seed fern Lepidopteris ottonis from Sweden records increasing CO₂ concentration during the end-Triassic extinction event. Open access, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 564. See also here (in PDF).

! M. Slodownik et al. (2023): Komlopteris: A persistent lineage of post-Triassic corystosperms in Gondwana. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 317.
Note figure 1A: Geochronological scale indicating the range of Southern Hemisphere Komlopteris species.
"... Komlopteris is a genus that includes the youngest representative of the so-called ‘seed ferns’
[...] we review the representatives of Komlopteris from Gondwana, emend the genus, establish three new species, and propose five new combinations based on macro-morphological traits ..."

M.K.A. Smith et al. (2015): Mesozoic Diversity of Osmundaceae: Osmundacaulis whittlesii sp. nov. in the Early Cretaceous of Western Canada. Abstract, Journal of Plant Sciences, 176: 245-258. See also here (in PDF).

Stephen A. Smith et al. (2010): An uncorrelated relaxed-clock analysis suggests an earlier origin for flowering plants. PDF file, PNAS, 107: 5897-5902.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Robert A. Spicer and Alexei B. Herman (2010): The Late Cretaceous Environment of the Arctic: A Quantitative Reassessment based on Plant Fossils. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

A.K. Srivastava, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, India: Taxonomy, palaeobotany and biodiversity About the angiosperm origin (PDF file, page 2). CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 81, NO. 10.

N.A. Stanich et al. (2009): Phylogenetic diversification of Equisetum (Equisetales) as inferred from Lower Cretaceous species of British Columbia, Canada. In PDF, Am. J. Bot., 96: 1289-1299.
See also here.

E. Stiles et al. (2020): Cretaceous–Paleogene plant extinction and recovery in Patagonia. Free access, Paleobiology, 46: 445–469.

R.A. Stockey et al. (2020): Late Cretaceous Diversification of Cupressaceous Conifers: A Taiwanioid Seed Cone from the Eden Main, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In PDF, International Journal of Plant Sciences 181. See also here.

! R.A. Stockey and G.W. Rothwell (2020): Diversification of crown group Araucaria: the role of Araucaria famii sp. nov. in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) radiation of Araucariaceae in the Northern Hemisphere. Abstract, American Journal of Botany, 107: 1–22. See also here (in PDF).

! Amber David W. Taylor and Leo J. Hickey (1996): Flowering Plant Origin, Evolution & Phylogeny. Google books (some pages omitted); American Institute of Biological Sciences (Springer), 404 pages.

J.B. Thompson and S. Ramírez-Barahona (2023): No evidence for angiosperm mass extinction at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. In PDF, bioRxiv.

A.M.F.M. Tomescu (2018): Exquisitely preserved tiny fossils are key for understanding moss evolution. Botany One.

C. Trevisan et al. (2022): Coniopteris antarctica sp. nov. (Pteridophyta) and associated plant assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous of Rip Point, Nelson Island, Antarctica. In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 136.
See also here.

! V.A. Vakhrameev et al. (1991): Jurassic and Cretaceous floras and climates of the Earth. In PDF.
See also here (provided by Google books).

B. Vento et al. (2023): Phylogenetic relationships in Nothofagus: The role of Antarctic fossil leaves. In PDF, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 68.

M. von Balthazar et al. (2007): Potomacanthus lobatus gen. et sp. nov., a new flower of probable Lauraceae from the Early Cretaceous (Early to Middle Albian) of eastern North America. The charcoalified fossil flower Potomacanthus lobatus. Open access, American Journal of Botany, 94: 2041-2053.

A. Vicente et al. (2024): A bioprovince for the Barremian–Aptian charophytes of the Central Tethyan Archipelago. Free access, Cretaceous Research, 154.
See also here (in PDF):

S. Villalba-Breva et al. (2015): Plant taphonomy and palaeoenvironment from the Upper Cretaceous of Isona, Tremp Basin, southern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain. In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 54: 34-49.

S. Villalba Breva et al. (2012): Peat-forming plants in the Maastrichtian coals of the Eastern Pyrenees. In PDF, Geologica Acta, 10.

S. Wang et al. (2021): Cretaceous fire-resistant angiosperms. In PDF, preprint, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-494355/v1.
See also here.
"... both preserved as inclusions in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (~99 Ma). These specialized flower structures, named Phylica piloburmensis sp. nov. and Eophylica priscastellata gen. et sp. nov., were adapted to surviving frequent wildfires, providing the earliest evidence of fire-resistance in angiosperms. ..."

! X. Wang (2017): A Biased, Misleading Review on Early Angiosperms. In PDF, Natural Science, 9: 399-405.
Please note: P.S. Herendeen et al. (2017): Palaeobotanical redux: revisiting the age of the angiosperms. In PDF, Nature Plants 3. See also here.

X. Wang and S. Zheng (2010): Whole fossil plants of Ephedra and their implications on the morphology, ecology and evolution of Ephedraceae (Gnetales). In PDF, Chinese Science Bulletin, 55: 1511-1519.
See also here.

X.A. Wang (2022): A Novel Early Cretaceous Flower and Its Implications on Flower Derivation. Free access, Biology, 11.

J.E. Watkins and C.L. Cardelús (2012): Ferns in an angiosperm world: cretaceous radiation into the epiphytic niche and diversification on the forest floor. Abstract, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 173.

! S.L. Wing and L.D. Boucher (1998): Ecological aspects of the Cretaceous flowering plant radiation. In PDF, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 1998 26: 379-421.

! J.A. Wolfe and G.R. Upchurch (1987): Leaf assemblages across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton Basin, New Mexico and Colorado. Free access, Proc. National Academy of Sciences USA, 84: 5096-5100.

J. Yans et al. (2010): Carbon-isotope analysis of fossil wood and dispersed organic matter from the terrestrial Wealden facies of Hautrage (Mons Basin, Belgium). In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 291: 85-105.

! A.E. Zanne et al. (2014): Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments. In PDF, Nature. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

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