Reproductive biology of the Permian Glossopteridales and their suggested relationship to flowering plants.

The discovery of permineralized glossopterid reproduction organs from Late Permian deposits in the Beard-more Glacier region (central Transantarctic Mountains) of Antarctica provides anatomical evidence for the adaxial attachment of the seeds to the megaasporophyll in this important group of Late Paleozoic seed plants. The position of the seeds is in direct contradiction to many earlier descriptions, based predominatly on impression/compression remains. The attachement of the ovules on the adaxial surface of a leaf-like megasporophyll, combined with other features, such as megaga-reproductive biology in this group than has previously been hypothesized. The findings confirm the classification of the Glossopteridales as seed ferns and are important considerations in disscussion of the phylogeny of group, including their suggested role as close relatives or possible ancestors of the angiosperms. IMAGES: