What is Cladoxylopsida?
{{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Middle [[Devonian]]{{ndash}}early [[Carboniferous]] | image = Eospermatopteris erianus.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Wattieza]]'' | taxon = Cladoxylopsida | subdivision_ranks = Orders/Genera | subdivision = †[[Pseudosporochnales]]<br> †[[Iridopteridales]]<br> <br> Incertae sedis: <br> * †''[[Foozia]]'' }} [[File:Cladoxylopsid bark.jpg|thumb|right|Bark (possibly from a cladoxylopsid) from the Middle Devonian of [[Wisconsin]]]] The '''cladoxylopsids''' are a group of [[plant]]s known only as [[fossil]]s that may be ancestors of [[fern]]s and [[horsetail]]s. They had a central trunk, from the top of which several lateral branches were attached. Fossils of these plants start in the middle [[Devonian]] to early [[Carboniferous]] periods, mostly just as stems. Cladoxylopsida contains two orders. The order Hyeniales is now included in [[Pseudosporochnales]].<ref>Thomas N. Taylor, Edith L. Taylor, Michael Krings 2009. ''Paleobotany: the biology and evolution of fossil plants. 2nd ed. p. 387-401, 1028. Academic Press. {{ISBN|978-0-12-373972-8}}</ref> Intact fossils of the Middle [[Devonian]] cladoxylopsid ''[[Wattieza]]'' show it was a tree, the earliest known in the fossil record as of 2007. In 2019, experts discovered more fossils of Cladoxylopsida and ''[[Archaeopteris]]'' in a quarry in [[Cairo, New York]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Foster |first=Laura |date=Dec 19, 2019 |title=World's oldest fossil trees uncovered in New York |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50840134 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=Dec 19, 2019}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}}{{Break}} [[Category:Carboniferous]] [[Category:Plant taxonomy]] [[Category:Trees]] [[Category:Extinct plants]] [[Category:Fossil plants]] {{-}} {{biology-stub}}