A History of Plants in Fifty Fossils

A History of Plants in Fifty Fossils
Author: Paul Kenrick
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2020-03-20
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1588346714

An illustrated history of plants presented through the stories of 50 key fossil discoveries This is the lively, fully illustrated story of plant life on Earth as revealed through some of the most significant fossil discoveries ever made. Beginning with the origins of plant life in the sea, where photosynthesis first evolved in bacteria, the book traces the evolution of land plants, ferns, conifers and their relatives, and flowering plants. Each fossil is depicted with stunning full-color photography alongside narrative from paleobotanist Paul Kenrick explaining its significance and revealing the story behind its discovery. Interspersed throughout the book are contextual "snapshots" of landscapes and environments at various periods of geological time, focusing on plants and plant-animal interactions. A History of Plants in Fifty Fossils is perfect for anyone interested in plants, fossils, and the stories they tell us about life on Earth.

Common Fossil Plants of Western North America

Common Fossil Plants of Western North America
Author: William D. Tidwell
Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1998
Genre: Paleobotany
ISBN: 9781560987833

Because fossil plants are found worldwide, the book can be used in many areas other than the western United States.

Paleozoic Fossil Plants

Paleozoic Fossil Plants
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780764343278

Over 670 color photos reveal the Paleozoic plants that covered the earth from 500 to 260 million years ago, well before the dinosaurs roamed the world. These plants provide some of the earliest records to the greening of planet earth. They also make fascinating, very attractive fossils, which can be considered as "nature's artwork." The fossil record provides a window into the first "forests" of the Devonian Period, followed by the peculiar plants of the Lower Carboniferous. These plants, in turn, were followed by those of the Upper Carboniferous, abundant vegetation that is responsible for almost half of the planet's coal seams. Coal swamp vegetation is followed by the more sparse Permian floras, which preceded what was the earth's most profound extinction event. Marine plants also make their appearance in the world during this period, as do various puzzling fossil tracks and burrows previously thought to be marine plant fossils. This book is for all who are curious about the ancient earth.

Introduction to Plant Fossils

Introduction to Plant Fossils
Author: Christopher J. Cleal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2019-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781108705028

Plant remains can preserve a critical part of history of life on Earth. While telling the fascinating evolutionary story of plants and vegetation across the last 500 million years, this book also crucially offers non-specialists a practical guide to studying, dealing with and interpreting plant fossils. It shows how various techniques can be used to reveal the secrets of plant fossils and how to identify common types, such as compressions and impressions. Incorporating the concepts of evolutionary floras, this second edition includes revised data on all main plant groups, the latest approaches to naming plant fossils using fossil-taxa and techniques such as tomography. With extensive illustrations of plant fossils and living plants, the book encourages readers to think of fossils as once-living organisms. It is written for students on introductory or intermediate courses in palaeobotany, palaeontology, plant evolutionary biology and plant science, and for amateurs interested in studying plant fossils.

Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants

Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants
Author: Wilson N. Stewart
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 544
Release: 1993-02-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521382946

This 1993 textbook describes and explains the origin and evolution of plants as revealed by the fossil record.

A Guide to Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) Age Plant Fossils of Southwest Virginia

A Guide to Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) Age Plant Fossils of Southwest Virginia
Author: Thomas F. Mcloughlin
Publisher: Readersmagnet LLC
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2019-04-22
Genre:
ISBN: 9781949981803

This book is a picture guide to fossil plants and a few fossil marine organisms found in close association with the coal measures in Southwestern Virginia. The fossils are sorted by groups and located as to coal seam horizon and geographic location. Short descriptions of each group of plant types are provided. This publication has been designed with the armature ("rock hound") as well as a virtual guide for the more advanced collectors. There are 57 plates with more than 280 illustrations, most of which are in color.

Fossil Plants

Fossil Plants
Author: Paul Kenrick
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2004
Genre: Paleobotany
ISBN: 9780565091767

"This guide to fossil plants explains the lives of these ancient plants, how they came to be fossilized, and what they may tell us about the past. Kenrick and Davis trace the evolution of land plants, ferns, and conifers and their relatives, the flowering plants. Weaving together strands from the past and present, the snapshots of ancient and modern environments are illustrated with images of fossils and their "living relatives." With photographs of the delicate pieces of shale that hold the fossils, the authors explore the hidden past of plants and uncover the breadth of form and rare beauty of plants turned to stone."--BOOK JACKET.

Fossil Fungi

Fossil Fungi
Author: Thomas N Taylor
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2014-08-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0123877547

Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists. - First book devoted to the whole spectrum of the fossil record of fungi, ranging from Proterozoic fossils to the role of fungi in rock weathering - Detailed discussion of how fossil fungi are preserved and studied - Extensive bibliography with more than 2000 entries - Where possible, fungal fossils are placed in a modern systematic context - Each chapter within the systematic treatment of fungal lineages introduced with an easy-to-understand presentation of the main characters that define extant members - Extensive glossary of more than 700 entries that define both biological, geological, and mycological terminology

The Emerald Planet

The Emerald Planet
Author: David Beerling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2017-05-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0192529781

Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth's climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being 'silent witnesses to the passage of time', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth's history, and in helping us to predict its future. His account draws together evidence from fossil plants, from experiments with their living counterparts, and from computer models of the 'Earth System', to illuminate the history of our planet and its biodiversity. This new approach reveals how plummeting carbon dioxide levels removed a barrier to the evolution of the leaf; how plants played a starring role in pushing oxygen levels upwards, allowing spectacular giant insects to thrive in the Carboniferous; and it strengthens fascinating and contentious fossil evidence for an ancient hole in the ozone layer. Along the way, Beerling introduces a lively cast of pioneering scientists from Victorian times onwards whose discoveries provided the crucial background to these and the other puzzles. This understanding of our planet's past sheds a sobering light on our own climate-changing activities, and offers clues to what our climatic and ecological futures might look like. There could be no more important time to take a close look at plants, and to understand the history of the world through the stories they tell. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.