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38-496: Cycadeoidaceae is a family of bennettitalean plants which flourished in the Mesozoic era. Two genera, Cycadeoidea and Monanthesia , are currently recognised though most species are poorly known. They had a similar morphology to cycads , with thick, branchless trunks covered in scale leaves . This article related to a Jurassic plant is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

76-634: A Cretaceous plant is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bennettitales Bennettitales (also known as cycadeoids ) is an extinct order of seed plants that first appeared in the Permian period and became extinct in most areas toward the end of the Cretaceous . Bennettitales were amongst the most common seed plants of the Mesozoic , and had morphologies including shrub and cycad -like forms. The foliage of bennettitaleans

114-411: A decarbonylation pathway. In the acyl reduction pathway, a reductase converts VLCFAs into primary alcohols, which can then be converted to wax esters through a wax synthase . In the decarbonylation pathway, aldehydes are produced and decarbonylated to form alkanes, and can be subsequently oxidized to form secondary alcohols and ketones. The wax biosynthesis pathway ends with the transportation of

152-512: A divaricate branching habit, similar to that of Banksia . It has been suggested that Williamsoniaceae are a paraphyletic (not containing all descendants of a common ancestor) assemblage of all Bennettitales that do not belong to the Cycadeoidaceae. In general, bennettitalean leaves are attached to the stem with a helical (corkscrew) arrangement. Some leaves (most species of Nilssoniopteris , etc.) are narrow, solitary blades with

190-510: A monophyletic group when paired with Gnetales. a study in 2006 suggested that Bennettitales, Angiosperms, and Gigantopteridales form a clade based on the presence of oleanane . Molecular evidence has consistently contradicted the Anthophyte hypothesis, finding that Angiosperms are the sister group to all living gymnosperms, including Gnetales. Some authors have suggested due to similarities between their seed coats, Bennettitales form

228-427: A palmate appearance similar to early species of Ginkgo . The foliage of bennettitaleans resembles that of cycads to such an extent that the foliage of the two groups cannot be reliably distinguished based on gross morphology alone. However, fossil foliage which preserves the cuticle can be assigned to either group with confidence. The stomata of bennettitaleans are described as syndetocheilic . This means that

266-489: A polyester polymer composed of inter-esterified omega hydroxy acids which are cross-linked by ester and epoxide bonds, is the best-known structural component of the cuticular membrane. The cuticle can also contain a non-saponifiable hydrocarbon polymer known as cutan . The cuticular membrane is impregnated with cuticular waxes and covered with epicuticular waxes , which are mixtures of hydrophobic aliphatic compounds , hydrocarbons with chain lengths typically in

304-634: A clade with the gymnosperm orders of Gnetales and Erdtmanithecales , dubbed the "BEG group". However, this proposal has been contested by other authors, who contend that these similarities are only superficial and do not indicate a close relationship. A 2017 phylogeny based on molecular signatures of fossilised cuticles found that Bennettitales were more closely related to the Ginkgo +Cycads clade than conifers, and were closely related to Nilssonia and Ptilozamites . The oldest confirmed fossils of bennettitaleans are leaves of Nilssoniopteris shanxiensis ,

342-492: A high risk of dehydration from the under sides of their leaves. "The waxy sheet of cuticle also functions in defense, forming a physical barrier that resists penetration by virus particles, bacterial cells, and the spores and growing filaments of fungi". The plant cuticle is one of a series of innovations , together with stomata , xylem and phloem and intercellular spaces in stem and later leaf mesophyll tissue, that plants evolved more than 450 million years ago during

380-407: A long proboscis , and it has been suggested that they fed on nectar produced by bennettitalean reproductive structures, such as the bisexual williamsoniacean reproductive structure Williamsoniella , which had a long, narrow central receptacle which was likely otherwise inaccessible. Early Cretaceous bennettitalean pollen has been found directly associated with a proboscis bearing fly belonging to

418-425: A maternal cuticle improves offspring fitness in the moss Funaria hygrometrica and in the sporophytes of all vascular plants . In angiosperms the cuticle tends to be thicker on the top of the leaf ( adaxial surface ), but is not always thicker. The leaves of xerophytic plants adapted to drier climates have more equal cuticle thicknesses compared to those of mesophytic plants from wetter climates that do not have

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456-429: A smooth-edged ("entire") margin. Most leaf morphotypes ( Pterophyllum , Ptilophyllum , Zamites , Otozamites , etc.) are pinnate (feather-shaped), with many small leaf segments attached to a central shaft. Others ( Anomozamites , a few species of Nilssoniopteris ) are incompletely pinnate (sawtooth-shaped) and transitional between these two end members. One unusual leaf form, Eoginkgoites , even approaches

494-614: A species from the upper part of the Upper Shihhotse Formation in Shanxi Province , China . This strata is dated to the early Kungurian stage of the early Permian ( Cisuralian ), around 281 million years ago. Supposed Carboniferous-Permian records of Pterophyllum do not have conclusive bennettitalean affinities or have been reinterpreted as cycad foliage in the form genus Pseudoctenis . True Permian records of benettitalean leaves are rare; outside of

532-460: Is associated with the female reproductive structure Williamsonia , though it is uncertain whether the parent plants were monoecious (male and female reproductive structures being present on the same plant) or dioecious (where each plant has only one gender of reproductive organ). Weltrichia was likely primarily wind-pollinated , with some species possibly pollinated by beetles. Several groups of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous insects possessed

570-921: Is contradicted by numerous more subtle features of their reproductive systems and leaf structure. Some authors have linked bennettitaleans to angiosperms (flowering plants) and gnetophytes (a rare and unusual group of modern gymnosperms), forming a broader group known as Anthophyta . Molecular data contradicts this, with gnetophytes found to be much more genetically similar to conifers . The exact position of Bennettitales remains uncertain. Bennettitales are divided into two families, Cycadeoidaceae and Williamsoniaceae , which have distinct growth habits . Cycadeoidaceae had stout, cycad -like trunks with bisporangiate (containing both megaspores and microspores ) strobili (cones) serving as their reproductive structures. Williamsoniaceae either had bisporangiate or monosporangiate cones, and distinctly slender and branching woody trunks. The Williamsoniaceae grew as woody shrubs with

608-440: Is dense and thick, with many layers of differentiated cells. This contrasts with the thin, biseriate (two cell-layer) integument of gnetophytes. Bennettitaleans also lack another gnetophyte-like trait: a sheath of fused bracteoles enveloping the seed. Most integument cells are not unusual in size or shape. However, near the micropyle the innermost layer of integument cells become radially-oriented and elongated, partially closing in on

646-664: Is often enclosed in paired synangia (pollen sacs). The synangia lie on the adaxial (inner) edge of pollen-bearing leaf-like structures known as microsporophylls . This contrasts with cycads, all of which lack discrete synangia and bear pollen on the abaxial (outer) surface of their microsporophylls. Many bennettitaleans are bisporangiate , where the pollen and ovules are hosted on the same (bisexual or hermaphrodite) cone. Cavities filled with curved synangia-bearing microsporophylls are encased by thin radiating structures, including thick, infertile interseminal scales and fertile sporophylls with ovules at their tips. The presence of ovules at

684-503: Is present on the outer surfaces of the primary organs of all vascular land plants. It is also present in the sporophyte generation of hornworts , and in both sporophyte and gametophyte generations of mosses . The plant cuticle forms a coherent outer covering of the plant that can be isolated intact by treating plant tissue with enzymes such as pectinase and cellulase . The cuticle is composed of an insoluble cuticular membrane impregnated by and covered with soluble waxes . Cutin ,

722-399: Is superficially nearly indistinguishable from that of cycads, but they are distinguished from cycads by their more complex flower-like reproductive organs, at least some of which were likely pollinated by insects . Although certainly gymnosperms sensu lato (cone-bearing seed plants), the relationships of bennettitaleans to other seed plants is debated. Their general resemblance to cycads

760-487: The Isle of Portland , England, which Buckland gave the genus name Cycadeoidea . Buckland provided a description of the family and two species, but failed to give a description of the genus, which has led to Buckland's description of the family being considered invalid by modern taxonomic standards. In publications in 1870, Scottish botanist William Carruthers and English paleobotanist William Crawford Williamson described

798-498: The Maastrichtian , assignable to Pterophyllum. A possible late record has been reported from the early Oligocene of eastern Australia and Tasmania , assignable to the genus Ptilophyllum , but no cuticle was preserved, making the referral inconclusive. Bennettitales is typically considered the sole order in the class Bennettitopsida Engler (1897) or Cycadeoideopsida Scott (1923) . Most paleobotanists prefer

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836-560: The Middle Triassic , and williamsoniaceans became globally distributed by the end of the period. The oldest bennettitalean reproductive structures are small Williamsonia "flowers" from the Middle Triassic Esk Formation of Australia . While Williamsoniaceae had a global distribution, Cycadeoidaceae appear to have been primarily confined to the western parts of Laurasia , and are primarily known from

874-716: The Cretaceous. Bennettitales were widespread and abundant during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, however Bennettitales severely declined during the Late Cretaceous, coincident with the rise of flowering plants , being mostly extinct by the end of the period, with the final known remains from the Northern Hemisphere being found in the polar latitude Kakanaut Formation in Chukotka , Russia, dating to

912-797: The Shihhotse Formation they are only found in the Late Permian (likely Changhsingian )-age Umm Irna Formation in Jordan . This formation is notable for the early occurrence of other Mesozoic-style flora, including the earliest records of corystospermalean foliage ( Dicroidium ). The order Fredlindiales (containing the genus Fredlindia ) from the Late Triassic of Gondwana appears to be closely related to Bennettitales, but differs from it in some aspects of its reproductive organs. The bennettitalean fossil record reappeared in

950-492: The biosynthesis pathway for the formation of cuticular VLCFAs, occurs with the de novo biosynthesis of C16 acyl chains (palmitate) by chloroplasts in the mesophyll, and concludes with the extension of these chains in the endoplasmic reticulum of epidermal cells . An important catalyzer thought to be in this process is the fatty acid elongase (FAE) complex. To form cuticular wax components, VLCFAs are modified through either two identified pathways, an acyl reduction pathway or

988-452: The cuticle have specialised surface properties that prevent contamination of plant tissues with external water, dirt and microorganisms. Aerial organs of many plants, such as the leaves of the sacred lotus ( Nelumbo nucifera ) have ultra-hydrophobic and self-cleaning properties that have been described by Barthlott and Neinhuis (1997). The lotus effect has applications in biomimetic technical materials. Dehydration protection provided by

1026-455: The extinct family Zhangsolvidae , providing evidence that this family acted as pollinators for the group. The interseminal scales of Bennettitales ovulate cones may have become fleshy at maturity, which could have potentially made then attractive to wild animals that served as seed dispersers. The Cycadeoideaceae (originally "Cycadeoideae") were named by English geologist William Buckland in 1828, from fossil trunks found in Jurassic strata on

1064-530: The first known reproductive organs of the Bennettitales from Jurassic strata of Yorkshire and Jurassic-Cretaceous strata of the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Portland. Caruthers was the first to recognise that Bennettitales had distinct differences from cycads, and established the tribes "Williamsonieae" and "Bennettiteae", with the latter being named after the genus Bennettites named by Caruthers in

1102-446: The form of cones , which produce pollen and ovules (unfertilized seeds). The cones have a thick central receptacle surrounded by simple, helically-arranged fertile and infertile structures. Tissue at the base of the cone forms layers of scale-like or petal-like bracts to protect the radiating inner structures. Some authors refer to bennettitalean cones as "flowers", though they are not equivalent to true angiosperm flowers. Pollen

1140-477: The main paired guard cells develop from the same mother cells as the subsidiary cells which surround them. This contrasts with the haplocheilic stomata of cycads and conifers. In haplocheilic stomata, the ring of subsidiary cells are not derived from the same original structures as the guard cells. This fundamental difference is the main way to differentiate bennettitalean and cycad foliage. Like other gymnosperms, bennettitalean reproductive inflorescences come in

1178-453: The micropyle. The nucellus and integument are unfused above the chalaza (base of the seed), unlike cycads or gnetophytes, where the layers are fused for much of their height. Cycadeoidaceans have been suggested to have been self-pollinating, with their stems and cones buried underground, although it has alternatively been proposed that they were pollinated by beetles. The flower-like williamsoniacean male reproductive structure Weltrichia

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1216-415: The other hand, feature an exposed crown of tapering microsporophylls with adaxial rows of synangia. The microsporophylls may host a single linear row of paired synangia, or instead synangia arranged in a pinnate (feather-shaped) pattern. Seeds are dicotyledonous (possess two embryonic leaves ), with a central embryo surrounded by three layers: the thin megagametophyte, the slightly thicker nucellus , and

1254-458: The protective integument . The upper tip of the seed is tapered and opens through a thin and often extended micropyle . A long, narrow micropyle extending out of the seed is superficially similar to the condition in living gnetophytes . Once the seed is fertilized, the micropyle is sealed by a plug-shaped extension of the nucellus. Unlike living gymnosperms, the tip of the nucellus lacks a pollen chamber (receptacle for stored pollen). The integument

1292-429: The range C16 to C36. Cuticular wax is known to be largely composed of compounds which derive from very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) , such as aldehydes , alcohols , alkanes , ketones , and esters . Also present are other compounds in cuticular wax which are not VLCFA derivatives, such as terpenoids , flavonoids , and sterols , and thus have different synthetic pathways than those VLCFAs. The first step of

1330-548: The same publication , the name being in honour of British botanist John Joseph Bennett . The order Bennettitales was erected by German botanist Adolf Engler in 1892, who recognised the group as separate from the Cycadales. The Anthophyte hypothesis erected by Arber and Parking in 1907 posited that angiosperms arose from Bennettitales, as suggested by the wood-like structures and rudimentary flowers . Based on morphological data, however, Bennettitales were classified as

1368-644: The tips of sporophylls, rather than the tips of stems, is a major difference between the cones of bennettitaleans and gnetophytes. As the cone is fertilized and matures, the microsporophylls wither away and the ovules transform into seeds. Most bennettitaleans in the family Williamsoniaceae are instead monosporangiate , with separate pollen and ovule-producing (unisexual) cones on the same plant. The ovule-producing (female) cones ( Williamsonia , etc . ) are similar to mature bisporangiate cones, with interseminal scales and ovule-tipped sporophylls enclosed by bracts. Pollen-producing (male) cones ( Weltrichia , etc . ), on

1406-489: The two families as used here, though some authors, such as Anderson & Anderson (2007), classify the order via a larger number of families. Anderson & Anderson also classified the orders Fredlindiales Anderson & Anderson (2003) and Pentoxylales Pilger & Melchior (1954) within Bennettitopsida. Plant cuticle The plant cuticle is a layer of lipid polymers impregnated with waxes that

1444-429: The wax components from the endoplasmic reticulum to the epidermal surface. The primary function of the plant cuticle is as a water permeability barrier that prevents evaporation of water from the epidermal surface, and also prevents external water and solutes from entering the tissues. In addition to its function as a permeability barrier for water and other molecules (prevent water loss), the micro and nano-structure of

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