Home / Teaching Documents, Lecture Notes and Tutorials

Home / Teaching Documents, Lecture Notes and Tutorials / Teaching Documents about Palaeobotany

Stephen T. Abedon, The Bacteriophage Ecology Group, Mansfield, Ohio State University, Columbus: Evolution of Plants. Brief lecture notes, still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Alexa (Alexa Internet, Inc., an Amazon.com Company). Alexa is a Web Information Company, perhaps best known for the Alexa Rank, the website ranking system which tracks over 30 million websites worldwide. See especially: The top ranked sites in category "Science". Go to:
! Paleobotany.

! Nan Crystal Arens, C. Strömberg and A. Thompson, Department of Integrative Biology, and Paleobotany Section, Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley: Virtual Paleobotany. The Virtual Paleobotanical Laboratory, a comprehensive treatment of the fossil record of land plants, is divided into 12 chapters, lab I through XII. Each lab has a title page, a page with questions around the group or subject of study, a list of literature and links for further reading and exploration, and a virtual gallery of images from the lab. The directory page is a generalized phylogeny that presents an overview hypothesis of relationships among the land plants. Excellent!

Hank Art et al., Williams College, Biology Dept., Williamstown MA: Field botany. Go to: Evolutionary Botany. Powerpoint download and links to aricles. See especially:
Early Land Plants.
Fossil Angiosperms.
Introduction to the Angiosperms.
Powerpoint presentations.

M.K. Bamford, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa: Methods for reconstructing past vegetation based on macroplant fossils. In PDF.

M.E. Barkworth, Utah State University: Notes for Plant Taxonomy. Some lecture notes (under construction). Go to:
Wondrous Events in Evolution. Powerpoint presentatation.
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

E. Barley and K. Fitzpatrick, lecture presentation for Campbell Biology, ninth edition: Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants. Powepoint presentation.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Dave Barrington, The Barrington Lab at the University of Vermont:
An Overview of Land Plant Evolution. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.
See also here and there.

M.J. Benton and D.A.T. Harper: Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record. Go to:
! Companion Website: Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record. On this website you can download the figures in jpeg format at standard resolution (96 dpi) for viewing on screen and at a higher resolution (300 dpi) for downloading. They can also be downloaded as a Powerpoint file for each chapter.
! See also here (in PDF).
For better navigation note the table of contents (in PDF).

! Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley, Plantae, Fossil Record: Chart of First Appearances of Major Plant Groups. Each of the taxonomic plant groups in pink boxes can be clicked upon to take you to an introduction.

Museum of Paleontology, The University of California, Berkeley: Understanding Science: How Science Really Works. This is a free resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works.

! Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley:
The Cleared Leaf Collection. Excellent!
An image gallery of modern leaves that have been bleached and stained to make their venation patterns more visible. Leaf shape, venation, and features of the margin, base and apex constitute important taxonomic and physiognomic characters.
You can search the collection from the
Paleontology Collections Photos page or
the collection at the Modern Cleared Leaf Photos page.
Don't miss the helpful
! Manual of Leaf Architecture. In PDF.

! Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin:
Von Nacktpflanzen und Schuppenbäumen. Ein Streifzug durch die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Pflanzen (in German). Easy to understand introduction.

H.J.B. Birks and W. Tinner (2016): Past forests of Europe. In PDF, European Atlas of Forest Tree Species.

M. Boersma (1988): Wie und warum man Pflanzenfossilien sammelt. Einführende Gedanken zur Paläobotanik. In German.

The Botanical Society of America: Online Image Collection. This is a collection of approximately 800 images available for instructional use. The site is run by a search engine database, designed and maintained by Scott Russell; slides scanned by Tom Jurik and Dave Webb. The copyright and any intellectual property rights for these images are retained by the individual donors. Visit "SET 11 - PALEOBOTANY".

Botany.Com, the Encyclopedia of Plants: Leaf shapes.

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO: Web-based instruction. Annotated links to information on using the web to teach. Go to: CzPaleobotany. Go to: Cenozoic Elevation of the Rocky Mountains, Paleobotanical Methods. About fossil classification (nearest living relative, physiognomy and CLAMP) and climate and elevation analysis.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! A.M.C. Bowles et al. (2023): The origin and early evolution of plants. Open access, Trends in Plant Science, 28.
Note figure 2: Phylogeny of early plant evolution with a selection of available genomic resources.
Figure 3: Fossils of possible and probable early archaeplastids.
! Figure 4: Summary of molecular estimates for the timescale of archaeplastid evolution.
"... Molecular clock analyses estimate that Streptophyta and Viridiplantae emerged in the late Mesoproterozoic to late Neoproterozoic, whereas Archaeplastida emerged in the late-mid Palaeoproterozoic ..."

C. Kevin Boyce, Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University: ‘The fossil record shows how plants shaped Earth — they sculpted ecosystems from rivers to rain’. (by Srijana Mitra Das, The Times of India, November 04, 2023).

! Jamie Boyer, The New York Botanical Garden:
What is Paleobotany?. Also worth checking out:
Plant Evolution & Paleobotany. An educational resource for students and teachers studying Earth's history, fossils, and evolution.
! Go to: Paleobotany Short-Course. Lecture notes.
Paleobotany Overview; Life moves to land.
Plant classification.
Rise of Seed Plants.
Rise of flowering plants.
Excellent!

! Stephen P. Broker, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: The Evolution of Plants. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
The evolution of plants is briefly treated primarily in terms of a consideration of the concepts of time and change, and an appreciation of the great diversity of life on earth today (without images). Recommended for Biology, 9th and 10th grade level, and Botany, 11th and 12th grade level.

Benjamin Burger, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah:
Why study fossil plants?
Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany.
How did plants colonize the land, based on the fossil record?
How did the first seed plants (the Gymnosperms) evolve?
How did gymnosperms diversify during the early Mesozoic to become a modern dominate plant group?
How good is the fossil record of Cycads?
What is the significance of the fossil record of Ginkgo?
What is the fossil record of Horsetails?
Fossil Algae.
What is an Angiosperm?
Video lectures.

! Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge (developed by Nicola Peart and Ben Roberts, with feedback from Katy Jordan, Howard Griffiths and Beverley Glover): Plant Evolution Timeline. Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Alison Campbell et al., Biology & Earth Science, The University of Waikato, New Zealand: Evolution for Teaching. This website has been developed to provide a web based resource for use by secondary teachers, especially in the science fields of evolution and geological time. Go to: Plant and Animal Evolution.

Alison Campbell, Penelope Cooke, Kathrin Cass and Kerry Earl, School for Science and Engineering, The University of Waikato, New Zealand: Evolution for teaching. Go to: Frequently Asked Questions. See also: Plant Evolution.

Angelo Capparella and Martha Cook, llinois State University: Biological Diversity. Navigate from here (PowerPoint Presentations). The subject matter of the course will provide an overview of biological diversity emphasizing major innovations in structure and function, including ecology and physiology, as well as the phylogeny (evolutionary history) and systematics (e.g., taxonomy) of living organisms. Go to: Microscopy, or Origin of Plants, Bryophytes (in ppt).

Sean Carrington, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Barbados: THE PLANT KINGDOM. An introduction to the world of plants from an evolutionary perspective.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Sean Carrington, Department of Biological & Chemical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI), Barbados: The Plant Kingdom. An introduction to the world of plants from an evolutionary perspective.
Have a look for handouts and PDF files,
or navigate from here.
Websites still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

David D. Cass, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta: Earliest Evidence of Flowering Plants. 32 slides.
Website outdated. The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

(?), University of Virginia, Charlottesville:
! Evolution of Land Plants.
Evolution of Seed Plants.
Powerpoint presentations.

! CLAMP Online (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivarite Program). This site is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and the Open University UK.
How you can use foliar physiognomy (leaf architecture) to determine ancient climates from fossil leaves or explore the relationship that exists between leaf form and climate. CLAMP is a multivariate statistical technique that decodes the climatic signal inherent in the physiognomy of leaves of woody dicotyledonous plants. See especially:
! Teaching Materials.
Older CLAMP websites are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine:
Robert A. Spicer, The Warm Earth Environmental Systems Research Group: Plant Fossils as Climatic Indicators. Go to: Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Programe (CLAMP). An introduction to the use of leaf architecture for determining past climatic conditions.

! J.T. Clarke et al. (2011): Establishing a time-scale for plant evolution. PDF file, New Phytologist. See also here.
! Note figure 2: A representative tree of relationships between model representatives of the major land plant lineages whose plastid or nuclear genomes have been fully sequenced.
Figure 7: Chronogram for land plant evolution.
Figure 8: Chronograms for the six molecular clock analyses conducted.
"... We reject both a post-Jurassic origin of angiosperms and a post-Cambrian origin of land plants. Our analyses also suggest that the establishment of the major embryophyte lineages occurred at a much slower tempo than suggested in most previous studies. ..."

! C.J. Cleal and B.A. Thomas (2021): Naming of parts: the use of fossil-taxa in palaeobotany. In PDF, Fossil Imprint, 77: 166–186.
See also here.

! C. Cleal et al. (2021): Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 1: How well can we identify past plant diversity in the fossil record? Abstract, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 576.
See also here (in PDF).

! C.J. Cleal and B.A. Thomas (1999): Plant Fossils: The History of Land Vegetation Fossils Illustrated. In PDF, (Boydell & Brewer Ltd).
See also here (Amazon) and there (Google books).

C.J. Cleal and B.A. Thomas (1995): Palaeozoic Palaeobotany of Great Britain, Introduction. PDF file, Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 9.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
! Note figure 1.3: The potential processes involved in a plant fragment passing into the fossil record.
! Figure 1.4: Summary of modes and nomenclature of plant fossil preservation.

P.R. Crane et al. (2004): Fossils and plant phylogeny. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 91: 1683-1699.

Cyberinfrastructure for Phylogenetic Research (CIPRES). Building the Tree of Life: A National Resource for Phyloinformatics and Computational Phylogenetics. CIPRES is a collaboration of many american museums and institutions. Go to:
! Getting to the Roots of Plant Evolution (Powerpoint presentation). See also the Exercise Handout (PDF file).
Snapshots provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

R. Daber (2012), Academic Universal-Lexikon:
Evolution: Pflanzen erobern das Festland (in German).
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

C.C. Davis and S. Matthews (2019); Davis Lab, Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA:
! Evolution of Land Plants. A bibliography, in PDF).
Part of Oxford Bibliographies.

! A.L. Decombeix et al. (2019): Plant hydraulic architecture through time: lessons and questions on the evolution of vascular systems. In PDF, IAWA Journal, 40: 387-420. See also here and there.

! W.A. DiMichele and R.A. Gastaldo (2008): Plant Paleoecology in Deep Time. PDF file, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 144-198. See also here (abstract).

Melanie DeVore, Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, GA:
! Life of the PreCambrian: Archean & Proterozoic.
! Plant Origin and Evolution.
Powerpoint presentations. Provided by D. Freile, New Jersey City University: Historical Geology.

Melanie DeVore, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Georgia College and State University:
Plant Origin and Evolution. PowerPoint presentation (87.4 MB!).
This expired link is still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! The Digital Encyclopedia of Ancient Life (DEAL), part of the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life project by the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York: This is an online, open-access textbook, currently under development. The goal of DEAL is to produce a comprehensive paleontological textbook with coverage of all major groups of organisms, including plants.
! Note the chapter on Embryophytes, by E.J. Hermsen. The pages covering general botanical subjects such as vascular plant structure, leaf structure and evolution, and plant life cycles.

! P.C.J. Donoghue et al. (2021): The evolutionary emergence of land plants. In PDF, Current Biology, 31: R1281-R1298.
See also here.
"... The oldest possible fossil evidence for land plants occurs as late Cambrian cryptospores, but their irregular arrangements and occurrence in ‘packets’ of multiple spore-like bodies sur- rounded by synoecosporal walls has led to algal interpretations ..."
! Note figure 4: Timescale of streptophyte phylogeny and the origin of land plant novelties.

M.J. Donoghue (2005): Key innovations, convergence, and success: macroevolutionary lessons from plant phylogeny. In PDF, Paleobiology, 31: 77-93.
See also here.

C. Elliott-Kingston et al. (2021): Creating a university evolution garden: An integrated learning approach for teaching land plant evolution. Open access, Plants People Planet, 3: 761-774.

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.

! EnchantedLearning.com: Botany and Paleobotany Dictionary.

! M.J. Farabee, Estrella Mountain Community College Center, Avondale, Arizona: On-Line Biology Book. Introductory biology lecture notes.
Now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Anjum Farooqui, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, India: Endemic Rainforest and its geological past in the Indian Peninsula. Powerpoint presentation.

Florissant Fossil Beds, National Monument Colorado. Beneath a grassy mountain valley in central Colorado lies one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. See especially:
! Curriculum Materials. A variety of lesson plans developed to help students gain an understanding of geology and paleontology at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Most of the activities in PDF.

J. Folsom, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA: Plant Trivia Timeline. This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. See also:
here (PDF file). The Timeline gives world history from the viewpoint of a botanist. It is the story of plant discovery and use, and addresses the roles of plants in human civilization.

David Ford, Canopy Dynamics Lab, School of Environmental and Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA:
! Biol220 TAs. Botany lecture notes (Powerpoint presentations). See especially:
The Importance of Plants, their origins and ways of life.
Plant evolution timeline on Powerpoint slide 11, 18 and 22!

W.A. Friedman (2020): Darwin in the garden: Engaging the public about evolution with museum collections of living objects. Open access, Plants, People, Planet, 2: 294–301.
"... Polls continue to show distressingly high percentages of people around the world do not accept that evolution has occurred.
[...] It is time for botanical gardens and arboreta around the world to commit to leveraging their living collections of museum objects to explain and demonstrate the roles of mutation, variation, and selection in the evolutionary process. In doing so, much could be accomplished to increase scientific literacy at a societal level.

! Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville:
Sphenopsids
Fossil coniferophytes.
Cycads and Ginkgo
Ferns 1
Ferns 2
(Powerpoint presentatations).

E.M. Gifford and A.S. Foster (1988): Morphology and Evolution of Vascular Plants. In PDF, 3rd edition, (New York: Freeman). See also here.

! E.M. Friis et al. (2011): Early Flowers and Angiosperm Evolution. Abstract, Cambridge University Press.
See also here (in PDF, long download time) and there (Google books).
Also worth checking out: Book Review, by P.J. Rudall, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 170. In PDF.
"... This long-awaited book represents not only a remarkable tour de force of palaeobotanical literature, but also a potentially enduring biological textbook. ..."

Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine:
A Brief Introduction to PALEOBOTANY, and WHAT IS PALEOBOTANY?
Navigate via: Notes for a Course in Paleobotany.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine:
Plant Associations of the Mesophytic. Lecture Notes.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine: PLANTS AS KEYS TO PAST CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
They are spatially-fixed adapted to atmospheric and substrate conditions. They are tightly constrained by the climatic regime under which they grow. See also Is it possible to retrodict? Fossils as environmental indicators.

Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine: Navigate via: Notes for a Course in Paleobotany. Go to:
Gymnosperms in the Mesophytic.
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Greenworks Organic-Software, Berlin, Germany: XfrogPlants V 2.0 Plant Library. XfrogPlants are 22 different 3D Plant Libraries, each containing 20 Species x 3 ages, and created using Xfrog procedural organic software. Samples of each plant in each library available, go to: Fossil Plants. Plant reconstructions. Excellent!

Alan Haywood, Leeds: Plants and Earth History. Powerpoint presentation.

Scott A. Heckathorn, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA:
Biodiversity lecture notes, Powerpoint presentations. See especially:
Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized Land.
Plant Diversity II:&xnbsp; The Evolution of Seed Plants.
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! University of Heidelberg, Germany:
Aktuelle Themen in der pflanzlichen Biodiversitätsforschung (in PDF). Lecture notes, in German.
J. Griller, PDF page 1-18: "Die verwandtschaftliche Stellung der Moose".
A. Olbrich, PDF page 19-55: "Verwandtschaftliche Beziehungen der Farnpflanzen".
(?), PDF page 56-92: "Die verwandtschaftliche Stellung der Gymnospermen".
F. Haßfeld, PDF page 93-102: "Die verwandtschaftliche Stellung der Angiospermen".

! L.J. Hickey&xnbsp;(1973): Classification of the architecture of dicotyledonous leaves. In PDF, American journal of botany, 60: 17-33.
See also here.
! Note figure 1-40: Leaf orientation features: Orientation and form of whole leaf, shape of apex and base, gland position, and marginal configuration.
! Figure 41-62: Types of venation.
! Figure 63-87: Orders of venation and vein configuration.
! Figure 88-107: Ultimate venation and areolation.

Christopher L. Hill, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho:
Great Strategies for Teaching Paleontology
Paleobotany – 200,000 Years of Pollen and Environmental Change. Powerpoint presentation.

Trevor Hodkinson, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin: Global Change & Evolution. In PDF. Lecture notes.
Recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! idmoz:
Find the best websites for any topic or search or browse by category on I Dmoz Web Directory. This site aims to reflect the historical snapshot of the former DMOZ database. but is not affiliated with DMOZ.org or AOL. Go to:
! Paleobotany Websites. Unfortunately showing invalide links.

International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT).
IAPT is dedicated to organismal biodiversity the extent, recognition, organization, evolution, and naming of plants and fungi, both living and fossil. Go to:
! International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code, 2018).

! The International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI).
IFPNI is a comprehensive literature based record of the scientific names of all fossil plants, algae, fungi, allied prokaryotic forms, protists and microproblematica. IFPNI provides an authoritative online, open-access, community-generated registry of fossil plant nomenclature as a service to the global scientific community. IFPNI is headquartered at the Fundamental Botanical Library, National Institute of Carpology (Gaertnerian Institution), Moscow.
See especially:
The International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI): A global registry of scientific names of fossil organisms started. In PDF, by A.B. Doweld, The Palaeobotanist, 65(2016): 203–208.

K. Jordan et al.(2008): An Interactive Timeline of Plant Evolution. See also here (in PDF). Note fig. 1.

M. Alan Kazlev, Palaeos, The Evolutionary History of Green Plants. This website illustrates the diversity of green plants, according to modern palaeobotanical and paleontological understanding.

M. Alan Kazlev and Toby White, Australia:
Palaeos: The trace of Life on Earth. The Palaeos Site is dedicated to providing a detailed and - at least in parts - comprehensive overview of the history of life on Earth. Use the menu bars at the top and (in longer pages) bottom of the page to navigate.
Go to: Chlorobionta: Land Plants.
Evolution of Land Plants.

Kelber, K.-P. (2003): Sterben und Neubeginn im Spiegel der Paläofloren. PDF file (17 MB!), in German. Plant evolution, the fossil record of plants and the aftermath of mass extinction events. pp. 38-59, 212-215; In: Hansch, W. (ed.): Katastrophen in der Erdgeschichte - Wendezeiten des Lebens.- museo 19, Heilbronn.

! P. Kenrick & P.R. Crane (1997): The origin and early evolution of plants on land. PDF file, Nature.
See also here.

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky:
! Heat, time, pressure, and coalification.

! H. Kerp et al. (2020): Plants, spores, and pollen. Pdf file, in: F.M. Gradstein et al. (eds.): The Geological Time Scale 2020.

! Hans Kerp, Palaeobotanical Research Group, Münster, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster: Some recent palaeobotanical text books. This web page provides a selection of palaeobotanical text books published during the last years. With some helpful comments.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Hans Kerp, Palaeobotanical Research Group, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster: A History of Palaeozoic Forests. An introductory text with many helpful links directly related to the history of Palaeozoic forests. 7 chapters provide information about: The earliest land plants; Towards a tree-like growth habit; The earliest forests; The Carboniferous coal swamp forests; The floral change at the end of the Westphalian; Stefanian and Rotliegend floras; Is there a floral break in the Permian?
Now provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Michael Knee, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University: General Plant Biology, Horticulture and Crop Science 300, Online Resources. Go to: ANTHOPHYTA I, Evolution of flowering plants, and Evolution.

! M. Kosnik and Allister Rees et al., University of Chicago: Paleogeographic Atlas Project Databases (PGAP). The older database version is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

V.A. Krassilov (2003): Terrestrial palaeoecology and global change. PDF file (35.6 MB), Russian Academic Monographs No. 1, 464 p., (Pensoft), Sophia.

! M. Krings, C.J. Harper, N.R. Cuneo and G.W. Rothwell (eds., 2018): Transformative Paleobotany Papers to Commemorate the Life and Legacy of Thomas N. Taylor. This book features a broad spectrum of topics analyzing the structure, function and evolution of fossil plants, microorganisms, and organismal interactions in fossil ecosystems. See also here (provided by Google books).

P. Kumar et al. (2023): How plants conquered land: evolution of terrestrial adaptation. Open access, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 35: 5–14.
"... The transition of plants from water to land is considered one of the most significant events in the evolution of life
[...] This study highlights the morphological and genomic innovations that allow plants to integrate life on Earth ..."

! F. Leliaert et al. (2011): Into the deep: new discoveries at the base of the green plant phylogeny. PDF file, BioEssays. 33: 683-692. See also here.
! Note figure 1: Phylogenetic relationships among the main lineages of green plants.
"... A schism early in their evolution gave rise to two major lineages, one of which diversified in the world’s oceans and gave rise to a large diversity of marine and freshwater green algae (Chlorophyta) while the other gave rise to a diverse array of freshwater green algae and the land plants (Streptophyta) ..."

! T.J. Lepore et al. (2023): The impact of field experiences in paleontology on high school learners. In PDF, Journal of Geoscience Education. DOI: 10.1080/10899995.2023.2175525.
See also here.

LoveToKnow: The LoveToKnow Free Online Encyclopedia is based on the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Go to: Palaeobotany.

! Li Wenyan & Lu Dadao (1998): Atlas of Fossil Plant Anatomy in China. 390 pages. Provided by VSP through the Google Books Partner Program. Registration procedure required. Use "More results from this book" or "Search this book" to navigate. Unfortunately, you can view two pages around your search result, but you can search again! Use Google Book Search to search the full text of books.

Karl Mägdefrau (1956):
Paläobiologie der Pflanzen. PDF file (365 MB), in German. 443 p.; Fischer, Jena. DOI: 10.23689/fidgeo-3708.
See likewise here.

! S.R. Manchester et al. (2014): Assembling extinct plants from their isolated parts. In PDF, Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 66: 53-63. See also here.

! Steven Manchester, Florida Museum: Paleobotany. Powerpoint presentation.

Talline Martins and Heidi Hillhouse, Systematics Seminar, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin: Major Evolutionary Transitions, Transitional Fossils (Powerpoint presentatation). Including the evolution of vascular plants, Cooksonia as an example.
See also here.

! W.J. Matthaeus et al. (2023): A systems approach to understanding how plants transformed Earth's environment in deep time. Free access, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 51: 551-580.
"... For hundreds of millions of years, plants have been a keystone in maintaining the status of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and climate
[...] Extinct plants have functioned differently across time, limiting our understanding of how processes on Earth interact to produce climate ..."
Note figure 1: Schematic of the trait-based whole-plant functional-strategy approach applied to late Paleozoic extinct plants.
Figure 3: Chart illustrating the Paleo-BGC modeling process (White et al., 2020) from inputs of fossil-inferred plant functional traits and environmental parameters to output.
Figure 5: Temporal distribution of late Paleozoic tropical biomes and atmospheric composition.
Figure 8: Schematic diagram presenting the information used to reconstruct and interpret time-appropriate vegetation-climate interactions.

! S. McLoughlin (2021): Gymnosperms: History of Life: Plants: Gymnosperms. In PDF, p. 476-500; In: Elias, S. & Alderton, D. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Geology, Amsterdam, Elsevier. See also here.
! Note fig. 8: One model for the evolution of seed plants showing the stratigraphic ranges and relative abundance of the major groups.
Note fig. 10: Reconstruction of the early seed-plant Elkinsia polymorpha (Late Devonian).
Fig. 24A: Reconstruction of Cycadeoidea dacotensis, a cycadeoid bennettite.
Fig. 24C: Reconstruction of Wielandiella angustifolia, a williamsonioid bennettite.
Fig. 28: Reconstruction of the pollen-bearing organ Erdtmanitheca portucalensis (Early Cretaceous).

Ian Miller and Rose Prevec, Palaeontologia Electronica Volume 9, Issue 2 (2006): Palaeobotany in the Digital Age: Unearthing the Future of Taxonomy.

John M. Miller (gigantopteroid.org), University of California, Berkeley: Origin of Angiosperms. See also here or navigate from essay contents.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Sebastian Molnar, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver: Evolution and the Origins of Life. A directory of introductions concerning evolution, with a bias to Plant Biology and Evolution. Excellent examples about how evolution works can be seen from the plant world. Go to: Angiosperm Origins and Evolution, or The Evolution of Polyploidy, and Summary: Polyploid Evolution, Plant Evolution: Overview.

V. Mosbrugger, Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen: Lecture notes about plant palaeobiology. PDF files, in German. Go to:
Introduction, Progymnosperms.
Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Karl J. Niklas (2016): Plant Evolution: An Introduction to the History of Life. Book announcement.
Worth checking out: ! Introduction.
See also here (Google books).

! K.J. Niklas and U. Kutschera (2010): The evolution of the land plant life cycle. Free access, New Phytologist, 185: 27-41.

Karl Niklas, (Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University), Access Excellance, BioForum 4, "Theoretical Issues in Plant Biology". Now available by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
BioForum is a series of lectures, presented by California Academy of Sciences, in which scientists share their research results with high school biology teachers. Plant Evolution: Adaptation or Historical Accident? Is plant evolution largely adaptive or is it contingent on historical accidents? Dr. Niklas discuss in some detail a computer generated model dealing with the early evolution of land plants that can be used to predict how plant architecture must change to assure evolutionary success as the environment changes.

! Kevin C. Nixon, L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University Ithaca, NY: Paleobotany in cladistics and cladistics in paleobotany: enlightenment and uncertainty. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 90: 361-373. See also here.

W.R. Norris, Department of Natural Sciences, Western New Mexico University, Silver City, NM:
The Challenges of Life on Land. Lecture notes, powerpoint presentation. See also here (in PDF).

Department of Horticulture and Crop Science in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University: Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew: Plant Evolution. A version archived by Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Images of models to represent extinct plant forms with modern versions of 'primitive' plants, the entire display conveyed in dramatic fashion the dramatic change in plant form over the ages.

Department of Botany and Nature Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland: Paleobotanika. Lecture notes (PDF file), in Polish.

R. Omlor and J.W. Kadereit (2005), Institut für Spezielle Botanik und Botanischer Garten, Mainz: Evolution der Landpflanzen (in German).

! The Paleobiology Database (PBDB).
PBDB is a public database of paleontological data that anyone can use, maintained by an international non-governmental group of paleontologists. The Paleobiology Database has been supported by many grants over the years, mostly from the National Science Foundation. You may navigate from the
Paleobiology Database Guest Menu or check out the
Frequently Asked Questions. Please also note the detailed and excellent tutorial:
! M.D. Uhen et al. (2023): Paleobiology Database User Guide Version 1.0 Free access, PaleoBios, 40: 1-56. See also here (in PDF).

V. Parmar, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNU), India: Unit-12 Plant Fossils and Gondwana Flora. In PDF. All in a nutshell, easy to understand lesson.

! D.J. Peppe (2018): Reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoecology using fossil leaves. Abstract, in: Croft D., Su D., Simpson S. (eds) Methods in Paleoecology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer. See also here (in PDF).

Pinselpark, by Rüdiger Lorenz (in German): Paläobotanik.

Kathleen B. Pigg, Department of Plant Biology, Arizona State University:
Plant Fossils and Evolution.
! Go to: Laboratory 11. Paleozoic Seed Ferns, Cordaites & Early Conifers, Gondwana groups.
Websites outdated. Links lead to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! M.E. Popa (2011): Field and laboratory techniques in plant compressions: an integrated approach. In PDF, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here and there.

H. Prier et al. (2004): Exotische Gehölze im KIRCHHEIMER-Arboretum Freiburg. PDF file, in German. LGRB-Informationen, Heft 15 (Landesamt für Geologie, Rohstoffe und Bergbau Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg i. Br.). See also here.

! William K. Purves, David Sadava, Gordon H. Orians, and H. Craig Heller Life, The Science of Biology (Seventh Edition). The Companion Site. Interactive summaries, the glossary, animated tutorials and lots of flahcards (review figures). Go to: Chapter 30: The Evolution of Seed Plants.

Quizlet.com study tools:
! Search for Paleobotany.

A.E. Radford, W.C. Dickison, J.R. Massey, & C.R. Bell (Harper and Row, New York): Vascular Plant Systematics. This book was written as a reference text for basic courses in taxonomy and as a source book of information, procedures and references for ecosystematics, biosystematics, phylosystematics and chemosystematics. Searching images you may navigate from here. See also:
! Section A. Structure and Specialized Characters: V. Leaves.

Pearson Education, Inc.: Overview of Land Plant Evolution. Powerpoint presentation.
Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Pflanzenforschung.de (in German):
Der Farnsamer aus dem Perm (2023).
Landeroberung früher als gedacht. Bereits die Vorfahren heutiger Landpflanzen haben an Land gelebt (2016).
Die Entstehung der Pflanzenwelt (2013).
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Chris Romero (updated by Erin Barley with contributions from Joan Sharp, Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants. A set of powerpoint lectures can be downloaded from here.

A. Roth-Nebelsick et al.(2001): Evolution and Function of Leaf Venation Architecture: A Review. PDF file; Annals of Botany 87: 553-566. This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Gar Rothwell and Ruth Stockey (instructors), Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR:
! Fossil History of Plants. Lecture notes, excellent.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Gar W. Rothwell, Department of Environmental and Plant Biology Ohio University, Athens: Paleobotany. This course covers the evolutionary history of plants as revealed by the fossil record. Go to: Cutting a Coal Ball, and Coal Ball Peel Technique.
Snapshots taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Gar W. Rothwell, Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH: Vascular Plant Morphology. This course covers the structure, development, reproductive biology and relationships of vascular plants. The course is structured to emphasize the evolutionary changes that led to the diversity of modern tracheophytes. See for instance: Class Sphenopsida (PDF file).
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne: Teacher Resources. This page contains downloadable resources for teachers to use in the classroom. Go to: ! Gondwana Greening. Easy to understand tutorial (PDF file, 2.9 MB). Now provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Scott Russell, Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, College of Arts and Sciences, Norman: Morphology of Vascular Plants. Lecture notes, chiefly PDF files, including palaeobotany topics.
These expired websites are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.

Tyson Sacco, Cornell University: Trends in Green Plant Evolution. Powerpoint presentation.

George E. Schatz, Missouri Botanical Garden: Malagasy/Indo-australo-malesian Phytogeographic Connections. From the printed version: Schatz, G.E. 1996: Malagasy/Indo-Australo-Malesian phytogeographic connections. In: W.R. Lourenço (ed.), Biogeography of Madagascar. Editions ORSTOM, Paris.

Ernst-Detlef Schulze, Erwin Beck, Klaus Müller-Hohenstein (2005): Sample pages, Plant Ecology. Keywords for this textbook are e.g. autecology, ecophysiology, ecosystem ecology, plant ecology, synecology. Worth checking out: Table of contents (PDF file). Go to: 4.1 Historic-Genetic Development of Phytocenoses and Their Dynamics (PDF file).

ScienceDirect (Elsevier’s premier platform):
! Navigate from the concept definition and subject overview website.
Compiled information topic-by-topic. These pages are auto-generated by ScienceDirect using heuristic and machine-learning approaches to extract relevant information. Superbly done!
See for instance: ! Paleobotany (in Agricultural and Biological Sciences).
! Paleobotany (in Earth and Planetary Sciences).

! Andrew C. Scott (website provided by science.jrank.org): Fossil plants, The nature of fossil plants, The uses of fossil plants.
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! A.C. Scott (1990): 3.10 Anatomical Preservation of Fossil Plants. PDF file, scroll to page 263! Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
Article in: Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.): Paleobiology: A Synthesis. Navigate from the contents file (PDF).

! A. Scott and M. Collinson (1983): Investigating fossil plant beds. Part 2: Methods of palaeoenvironmental analysis and modelling and suggestions for experimental work. In PDF, Geology Teaching, 8. !Excellent!

! A. Scott and M. Collinson (1982): Investigating fossil plant beds. Part 1: The origin of fossil plants and their sediments. PDF file, Geology Teaching, 7: 114-122. Excellent!

Vishal Sharma, Government Post Graduate College For Girls, Chandigarh: Fossils of Gymnosperms. Powerpoint presentation.

! M.G. Simpson (2010): Evolution and diversity of green and land plants. PDF file, p. 55–72. In: Simpson MG, (ed.): Plant systematics. 2nd ed., Cambridge (MA): Academic Press.

! Judith E. Skog, International Association for Plant Taxonomy:
Report of the Committee for Fossil Plants: 4. PDF file, Taxon (2003), 52: 341-341.
Report of the Committee for Fossil Plants: 5. PDF file, Taxon (2005), 54: 175-176.
Report of the Committee for Fossil Plants: 6. PDF file, Taxon (2005), 54: 827-827.

Michael Spann, School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham:
Coal.
Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

A.K. Srivastava and D. Agnihotri (2010): Dilemma of late Palaeozoic mixed floras in Gondwana. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. See also here (abstract).

! Wilson N. Stewart and Gar W. Rothwell (Second edition, 1993): Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants. Provided by Google books.

! R.A. Stockey, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta: PALEOBIOLOGY OF ANGIOSPERM ORIGINS. This course explores recent advancements toward resolution of the evolutionary origin of flowering plants. Go to:
Presentation on Gnetophyta: An Enigmatic Group of Seed Plants (Author: Thorsten Hebben).
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Paul K. Strother, Palaeobotany Laboratory, Weston Observatory, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts: Links to Resources in Paleobotany, go to: Lectures, "Cryptospores and the Origin of Land Plants" (Powerpoint presentation).
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

StudyLib. StudyLib is a platform that provides individuals and legal persons to use their resources as a virtual web server. Go to: Science / Biology / Botany / Plants.
See especially:
Introduction to Plants: Evolution, Characteristics and Life Cycle (Powerpoint presentation).

P.M.V. Subbarao, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi:
Modeling of Fossil Fuel Formation. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

Ralph E. Taggart, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology/Department of Geological Sciences at Michigan State University, East Lansing:
! BOT335 Lecture Schedule. Some interesting chapters in terms of palaeobotany, e.g.
The First Vascular Land Plants;
Carboniferous Forests;
Arborescent Lycopods;
Psaronius: a Carboniferous tree-fern;
Carboniferous Horsetails;
Carboniferous Seed Ferns;
The Evolution of Conifers;
Cycadophytes, the True Cycads;
Mesozoic Cycadeoids;
Ginkgophytes;
North American Redwoods, Past and Present.
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Tarleton State University, (by A. Nelson (?)), Stephenville, Texas A&M University System:
Plant Evolution and Diversity. Powerpoint presentation.

! T.N. Taylor et al. (2009): Paleobotany: the biology and evolution of fossil plants (Google books, limited view).

Ellen Thomas, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University: Macroevolution. Lecture notes. Please, navigate from here. Worth checking out: Assignment: Plants (via wayback).

Greg Thorn, Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario: Evolution of Plants (Powerpoint presentations). Navigate from here with information from the Syllabus. See e.g. Lecture 16: Evolution of Plants. The evolution of early angiosperms.

! B.H. Tiffney (1988): Conceptual advances in paleobotany. In PDF, Journal of Geological Education: September 1988, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 221-226. See also here.

Unit-12 Plant Fossils and Gondwana Flora. In PDF. All in a nutshell, easy to understand lesson.

! Johanna H.A. van Konijnenburg-van Cittert (2008): The Jurassic fossil plant record of the UK area. PDF file, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 119: 59-72. See fig. 6 (after Cleal et al. 2001), how to distinguish bennettialean leaf shapes!
Now provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

School of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato, New Zealand: Evolution for Teaching. Earth´s History and Evolution. Teaching resources. Go to: Plant Evolution, Prokaryotes, Algae and Plants.

Kali Wallace, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder: Cenozoic Elevation of the Rocky Mountains. Go to: Paleobotanical Methods. Floral classification schemes and methods of climatic and atmospheric analysis are briefly described, e.g. fossil classification by the "nearest living relative" method or by physiognomy and CLAMP.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Wayne's Word An Online Textbook Of Natural History (Wayne P. Armstrong, alias Mr. Wolffia, Palomar College):
Plants of Jurassic Park.
Living Fossils At Palomar College.

David T. Webb, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu: Plant Evolutionary Diversity. Lecture notes. See also: at Plant Evolution Review Article. PDF file, Graham et al. 2000.

Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington: Plant Evolution. Powerpoint presentation.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Category:Evolution of plants
! Timeline of plant evolution.
Evolutionary history of plants.

! Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Evolution of plants,
Paleobotany,
Timeline of plant evolution,
Plant evolutionary developmental biology.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Timeline of plant evolution (under construction).

! Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Evolution of plants,
Paleobotany,
Timeline of plant evolution,
Plant evolutionary developmental biology.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
! Leaf.

Wikispaces, Tangient LLC, San Francisco, CA (note the Wikipedia entry):
CDS Biology Website:
! The Colonization of Land by Plants and Fungi. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.
Websites outdated. Links lead to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Kathy Willis and Jennifer McElwain: The Evolution of Plants. Oxford University Press, Second Edition. Don't miss the
Companion Website
and some samples in Google books.
Note chapter 1: The evolutionary record and methods of reconstruction (in PDF).

Kathy Willis, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, & Jenny McElwain, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (Oxford University Press): The Evolution of Plants. Book announcement. Go to: Chapter 06, Flowering plant origins (PDF file).
Snapshots provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Kathy Willis, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, & Jenny McElwain, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (Oxford University Press): The Evolution of Plants. Book announcement. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Go to:
! PowerPoint illustrations. Illustrations from the book in PowerPoint format. See also:
! Biome maps. Downloadable full-color images from the book.

S.L. Wing and W.A. DiMichele (1995): Conflict between Local and Global Changes in Plant Diversity through Geological Time. PDF file, Palaios, 10: 551-564. See also here (abstract).

Student group, ?University of Alberta, WordPress @ Bio-Sci (a website provided for Biological Sciences):
! Paleobotany . Numerous photographs of fossil plants, taxonomically sorted, e.g.:
Sphenophytes.

Wade B. Worthen, Biology Department, Furman University Greenville, SC:
The Diversity of Life, Plants. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

! S. Woudenberg et al. (2022): Deep origin and gradual evolution of transporting tissues: Perspectives from across the land plants. In PDF, Plant Physiology.
See also here. Note figure 4: Summary of the early fossil record of transporting tissues.