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Cryptospores: The Origin and Early Evolution of the Terrestrial Flora

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

Paul K. Strother
Paul K. Strother*
Affiliation:
Weston Observatory of Boston College, Department of Geology & Geophysics, 381 Concord Road, Weston, MA 02493 USA
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The Cryptogamic, or spore-producing, plants of today are composed of three nonvascular, bryophyte groups (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) and several vascular groups (ferns, club mosses, and horsetails). All of these plants produce abundant spores, which serve as propagules for dispersing and, to some extent, preserving plants through periods of ecological stress. Plant spores are typically formed as the end products of meiosis (reduction division) from a dividing sporocyte, or spore mother cell (smc). Because of this, they typically occur in groups of four, with each individual spore bearing a characteristic trilete, or Y-shaped mark on its common contact surface. Spore walls, composed of an inert, heterogeneous polymer called sporopollenin, are extremely resistant to the chemical vicissitudes of the terrestrial environment. This property of typical plant spores ultimately allows them to be quite abundant in fine grained clastic rocks. Although fossilized spores represent only a small part of the once-living plant, in many cases, they represent an important component of the plant fossil record, especially when the preservation of macroscopic tissues is lacking.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 6: Phanerozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems , November 2000 , pp. 3 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 by the Paleontological Society 

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