Gymnosperm identification: part-3
Orders and families of Pinophyta (or Coniferophyta):
In part 2 we learn the name of orders and families of pinophyta division. Here we briefly describe them.
First of all, let's remember the order and families name again:
Orders and families
A.Cordaitales
B.Pinales
1.Pinaceae
2.Araucariaceae
3.Podocarpaceae
4.Sciadopityaceae
5.Cupressaceae
6.Taxaceae
7.Cheirolepidiaceae
C.Vojnovskyales
D.Voltziales
A.Cordaitales:
Cordaitales are named after the
Australian botanist, A.J. Corda. It is an extinct group of Palaeozoic tall trees of gymnosperms. The characters of this order plant are woody. Maybe they are early conifers or maybe given rise to the conifers (Pinophyta), ginkgos (Ginkgophyta), and cycads (Cycadophyta).
Their reproductive method is cone-like. They appeared at the Carboniferous period when large trees were forming. The interesting thing is that it formed “the world’s first great forests”. They are extinct at the end-Triassic period. Common genera of Cordaitales are Mesoxylon and Cordaixylon. Other genera are Noeggerathiopsis and Sumaropsis.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: †Cordaitales
Family: †Cordaitaceae
Cordaitales fossils have been documented from North and South America, Europe, China, Russia, India, Australia, and Africa.
Cordaitales’s family †Cordaitaceae:
Cordaitaceae was named after Czech botanist and mycologist August Carl Joseph Corda. They were approximately 30 meters tall.
In the next post, we will discuss Pinales.
