SEED FERN

any plant of the extinct order Pteridospermales, class (sometimes division) Cycadophyta, abundant during the Carboniferous and Permian periods (from 360 to 245 million years ago). They had large fernlike fronds. Some species looked much like certain tree ferns of today; however, there is little evidence that they originated from true ferns. Although seed ferns are regarded by some as possible ancestors of angiosperms (flowering plants), certain anatomical difficulties seem to preclude such a close relationship. Three Paleozoic families are represented from Paleozoic times (ending 225,000,000 years ago): Lyginopteridaceae, Medullosaceae, and Calamopityaceae. Lyginopteris, a Late Carboniferous genus, is the most primitive known member of the order; it had stems up to 3 centimetres (1 1/4 inches) across and fronds up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) long. Medullosa species had complex stems with several bundles of conducting vessels, a condition without exact parallel in modern plants; M. noei was up to 5 metres (16 feet) tall. The family Calamopityaceae is a catch-all group for Paleozoic stem types that do not fit into either of the other families. Mesozoic seed ferns (from 66.4 to 245 million years old) include the families Peltaspermaceae, an early group with a stalked seed-bearing organ resembling roughly a sunflower head; Corystospermaceae, with a variety of protected reproductive structures; and Caytoniaceae (sometimes given as an order, Caytoniales), the most highly specialized gymnosperm (naked-seeded plant) closely approximating the flowers and fruits of the angiosperms.