Discover the wild side of plant history! Here are 3 weird and fascinating facts about fossil plants that you probably didn't know. For further reading, check out these sources:

#1 Phipps, CJ, Taylor, TN, Taylor, EL, Cúneo, NR, Boucher, LD and Yao, X. 1998. Osmunda (Osmundaceae) from the Triassic of Antarctica: an example of evolutionary stasis. American Journal of Botany, 85: 888-895. doi:10.2307/2446424

Feng Z., Sui Q., Yang JY, Guo Y, McLoughlin, S. 2023. Fossil leaf herbivory reveals convergent origins of nyctinasty. Current Biology, 33: 720-726. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.043

#2 Glasspool, I., Hilton, J., Collinson, M.E., and Wang, S.-J. 2004. Defining the gigantopterid concept: a re-examination of Gigantopteris (Megalopteris) nicotianaefolia Schenck and its taxonomic implications. Palaeontology, 47: 1339–1361. doi: 10.1111/j.0031-0239.2004.00425.x

#3 Luthardt, L., Rößler, R. 2017. Fossil forest reveals early Permian sunspot activity. Geology, 45: 279–282. doi: 10.1130/G38669.1

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