Bracteophyton

Bracteophyton is a genus of extinct vascular plants of the Early Devonian (around 420 to 390 million years ago) comprising a single species, Bracteophyton variatum.[1] Fossils were first found in the Xujiachong Formation of eastern Yunnan, China.

Bracteophyton
Temporal range: Early Devonian
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: †Barinophytes
Genus: †Bracteophyton
De M.Wang & S.G.Hao (2004)[1]
Species:
†B. variatum
Binomial name
†Bracteophyton variatum
De M.Wang & S.G.Hao (2004)[1]

The smooth stems (axes) mainly branched dichotomously. They bore terminal 'spikes' (strobili) consisting of spirally arranged fertile 'units'. Each unit was made up of one or two bracts and a spore-forming organ (sporangium) between a bract and the stem. It appears that the sporangium released its spores by splitting along top. The arrangement of the sporangia resembles that of some zosterophylls, but the plant's discoverers considered its relationships uncertain.[1] In 2013, Hao (one of the discoverers) and Xue listed the genus as a barinophyte.[2]

References
  1. Wang, De‐Ming & Hao, Shou‐Gang (2004), "Bracteophyton variatum gen. et sp. nov., an Early Devonian Plant from the Xujiachong Formation of Yunnan, China", International Journal of Plant Sciences, 165 (2): 337–345, doi:10.1086/381919
  2. Hao, Shougang & Xue, Jinzhuang (2013), The early Devonian Posongchong flora of Yunnan: a contribution to an understanding of the evolution and early diversification of vascular plants, Beijing: Science Press, p. 329, ISBN 978-7-03-036616-0, retrieved 2019-10-25
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