What is Archaeopteris?
{{italictitle}} {{About| the ancient plant | the ancient animal|Archaeopteryx}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Geological range/linked|Devonian|Lower Carboniferous}} | image = Archaeopteris hibernica 2.JPG | image_caption = ''Archaeopteris hibernica'' | taxon = Archaeopteris | authority = [[John William Dawson|Dawson]] (1871) }} '''''Archaeopteris''''' is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of pro[[gymnosperm]] tree with [[fern]]-like leaves. This tree is found in [[Stratum|strata]] from the Upper [[Devonian]] to Lower [[Carboniferous]]. For a while, 383 to 323 million years ago, it was the dominant tree all over the Earth.<ref>[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/oldest-forest-in-new-york Fossilized roots show the nature of 385-million-year-old forests]</ref> They had a world-wide distribution. On all the land areas that were habitable, they all had this tree. Until the 2007 discovery of ''[[Wattieza]]'', many botanists thought ''Archaeopteris'' was the earliest known tree. It has buds, reinforced branch joints, and branched trunks similar to today's [[wood]]. It is more like modern seed-bearing trees than other spore-bearing plants. It is a bit like woody trees and [[herb]]aceous ferns. These extinct plants are sometimes called the progymnosperms. They are plants with gymnosperm-like wood but which produce [[spore]]s rather than [[seed]]s. Because it bears spores. it is an ancestor of the [[gymnosperm]]s. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Fossil plants]] [[Category:Plant taxonomy]] [[Category:Trees]]