Organism · Land plants
Lepidodendron aculeatum
Fossil record age bounds · ≈ 330–299 Ma
Inferred life reconstruction
Lepidodendron aculeatum
Overview
Lepidodendron aculeatum is a fossil lycopsid that left elongated diamond-shaped patterns on its trunk. These patterns are the sites where leaves were attached, rather than scales. Small traces on the trunk surface offer a starting point for understanding a large plant of Carboniferous forests.[1][4]
Loading illustration…
Key facts
Following the diamond-like patterns reveals the sequence in which the leaves were arranged. The leaf cushions spiral around the trunk. Small structures within the pattern can also be distinguished, including a leaf scar above and a pair of traces below.[1]
Time and place
It is presented as a plant of the Late Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago. A study of a coal-bed forest near Socorro also compared trunk material with related plant remains. Fossils of several organs allow us to examine the plants that made up an ancient forest.[1][5]
The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.
Size, form and skeleton
Elongated diamond-shaped leaf cushions arranged in a spiral characterize the trunk of this species. A separate study reported about 6 m of a preserved trunk section with leaves attached. This is the length of the surviving section of trunk; the large tree form of lepidodendrids is described by comparing several organs.[1][2][4]
Loading illustration…
Habitat and reproduction
Lepidodendrids were large plants in the lycopsid lineage that reproduced through cone-shaped organs containing spores. Comparing leaves, trunks, roots, and reproductive organs together allows us to explore the bodies of Carboniferous plants. It is intriguing that large size arose in a lineage different from those of today's large trees.[4]
Fossil discovery
When organs such as trunks, leaves, and roots are found separately as fossils, they may be recorded under different names. Trunks with leaves still attached provide concrete evidence connecting these organs. This research pieces together the bodies of ancient plants from several fragments.[2][4]
References
- Study of Lepidodendron stems in a Socorro coal-bed forest
- Lepidodendron aculeatum with attached leaves
- National Museum of Natural History, Paris — Carboniferous forests and arthropods
- Sam Noble Museum Fossil Lycophytes
- Senckenberg — Lepidodendron aculeatum fossils
- Dilcher·Lott·Axsmith — Plant fossils from the Union Chapel coal mine, Alabama
- Study of Lepidodendron stems in a Socorro coal-bed forest
- Sam Noble Museum — Fossil lycophytes and Lepidodendron
- Senckenberg — Lepidodendron aculeatum fossils
- Lepidodendron aculeatum with attached leaves
Research questions
How can separately discovered leaves and trunks be connected as parts of one plant? Researchers compare specimens with attached leaves, the shape of leaf cushions, and organs found together. Connecting the name of a single organ with the body of the whole plant is an important question in fossil-plant research.[1][2][4]
Observation
Look at one diamond-shaped leaf cushion on the trunk surface, then follow the rows as they spiral around it. Within the impression of a large tree, notice the repeated small traces where leaves were attached.[1]
Related organisms
Meganeura monyiInsectsFossil record age bounds · ≈ 304–299 MaCarboniferous forests and the age of large flying insects
Large lepidodendrid plants and insects such as Meganeura invite comparisons of Carboniferous forest environments. Examining different organisms from the same time side by side can broaden our picture of those ancient forests.
Sphenopteris pottsvilleaSeed plantsFossil record age bounds · ≈ 319–307 MaTwo kinds of traces for reading Carboniferous plants
The feather-like divided leaves of Sphenopteris pottsvillea and the diamond-shaped leaf cushions of Lepidodendron aculeatum are different traces of Carboniferous plants. Examine leaf divisions and trunk surfaces in material from different localities and times, and compare how the clues used to identify plants differ from one organ to another.