Palaeobiology of Angiosperm Origins
Problems of Mesozoic seed-plant evolution

Mr Hughes argues that approaches (previous to 1976) to the evolutionary origin and early history of or flowering plants have been inadequate and misleading.

Norman F. Hughes (Author)

9780521287265, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 January 1982

252 pages
23 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.3 kg

The evolutionary origin and early history of the angiosperms (or flowering plants), which are the dominant land plants today, has remained an unsolved problem since the time of Darwin. It has been referred to since those days as an 'abominable mystery', because neither direct ancestor nor an agreed date could be determined. Mr Hughes argues that previous approaches, mostly through botanical theory, have been inadequate and misleading. He suggests that the date is about 110 million years ago (in the Cretaceous period) and there is a good chance of ancestors being found if the correct approach is adopted to the study of other fossil plants of that period. Moreover, the study of plant microfossils in the past twenty years has made feasible a fuller geological study of other fossils. When this book was first published in 1976, several reviewers saw it as a timely book on a controversial subject.

1. Introduction and proposition
Part I. Technical Situation: 2. Biology and Earth evolution
3. Palaeobotanical factors
4. Data-handling for fossils
Part II. Cretaceous Earth History: 5. Cretaceous flora
6. Cretaceous land fauna
7. Cretaceous stratigraphy
Part III. Critical Fossil Evidence: 8. Jurassic gymnosperms
9. Early Cretaceous gymnosperms
10. Early Cretaceous fossil evidence of angiosperm characters
11. Late Cretaceous angiosperms
Part IV. Conclusion from Evidence: 12. Theory of angiosperm origin and early evolution
Part V. Other Theories: 13 Pre-Cretaceous angiosperm chains
14. Contribution of studies of comparative morphology
15. Other current theories
Part VI. Consequences: 16. Classification of angiosperms
17. Summary and future
Glossary
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Earth sciences [RB]