Glossopteris

Glossopteris is an extinct genus of seed plants known chiefly from tongue-shaped leaves with netted veins. Its fossils are widespread across Permian rocks of Gondwana.

Permian: The geologic period from about 299 to 252 million years ago, preceding the Triassic. Most well-known Glossopteris fossils come from rocks deposited during this period.
Glossopteris leaf: A broad, tongue-shaped fossil leaf with a prominent midrib and branching, net-like veins. These leaves supplied the genus name and are its most recognizable fossils.
Alfred Wegener: A German meteorologist who proposed continental drift in the early twentieth century. He used Glossopteris fossils on separated southern continents to support continental drift.
Biostratigraphy: The dating and correlation of rock layers using their fossil content. Glossopteris fossils help identify and correlate Permian strata in Gondwana.
Gangamopteris: An extinct seed-plant leaf genus from Gondwana, often lacking the prominent midrib of Glossopteris leaves. Its similar foliage is distinguished most readily by leaf venation and midrib structure.
Gondwana: A southern supercontinent that existed from the late Paleozoic into the Mesozoic. Glossopteris fossils occur across the landmasses that once formed this continent.
Glossopteris fructification: A fossil reproductive structure associated with Glossopteris plants and bearing ovules or seeds. Reproductive fossils clarify that Glossopteris was a seed plant, not a fern.
Continental drift: The hypothesis that continents move across Earth's surface over geological time. Glossopteris distributions became a prominent fossil argument for this idea.
Coal: A carbon-rich sedimentary rock formed from accumulated and altered plant material. Glossopteris-rich vegetation contributed to major Gondwanan coal deposits.
Lepidodendron: An extinct genus of arborescent lycopsids that formed major Carboniferous coal forests. It represents an older, spore-producing coal-forest flora rather than Glossopteris seed-plant communities.

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