Williamsoniaceae

Williamsoniaceae; Temporal range: Triassic–Cretaceous PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Restoration of Wielandiella
	Diagram of Weltrichia, a male reproductive structure
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Order:	†Bennettitales
Family:	†Williamsoniaceae; (Carruthers) Nathorst, 1913
Genera
	Zamites (leaf, in partim); Anomozamites (leaf); Ischnophyton; Kimuriella (whole plant); Pterophyllum (leaf); Otozamites (leaf); Wielandiella (whole plant); Williamsonia (female reproductive structure); Williamsoniella (bisexual reproductive structure); Weltrichia (male reproductive structure); Bucklandia (axes); Bennettistemon (male pollen organ); Vardekloeftia (female seed cone);

Williamsoniaceae is a family within the Bennettitales, an extinct group of seed plants. Members of this family are believed to have been around two meters tall and with widely serrate leaves along a central stem. Reproductive organs of the Williamsoniaceae have varied widely in the fossil record but almost all have been found to be borne on stalks emerging from a ring of leaves.^[1]

Pterophyllum fossil from Shamshak Formation, Middle Jurassic, Iran

Reproduction

This family is different from Cycadeoidaceae by having the presence of cones leaving the major axis and lateral branches associated with a long peduncle covered by bracts. Some of this family reproduce by sporangia and others only produce ovule or pollen sacs.^[2]

References

^ Meyen, Sergei V. (1984). "Basic Features of Gymnosperm Systematics and Phylogeny as Evidenced by the Fossil Record". Botanical Review. 50 (1): 1–111. doi:10.1007/BF02874305. JSTOR 4354028. S2CID 38485693.
^ Paleontologia Paleovertebrados e Paleobotânica Autor : Ismar de Souza Carvalho. Editora Interciência. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

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[Meyen_1984-1] Meyen, Sergei V. (1984). "Basic Features of Gymnosperm Systematics and Phylogeny as Evidenced by the Fossil Record". Botanical Review. 50 (1): 1–111. doi:10.1007/BF02874305. JSTOR 4354028. S2CID 38485693.

[paleobotany1-2] Paleontologia Paleovertebrados e Paleobotânica Autor : Ismar de Souza Carvalho. Editora Interciência. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

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