A partially permineralized Lepidophloios from the early Upper Carboniferous of Scotland

Abstract

A terminal shoot of Lepidophloios with both external morphology and anatomy preserved is described. It is compared to the compression species L. scoticus and the permineralized species L. scottii and L. wuenschianus, all from the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland. It is characterized by the leaves having been abscissed right up to the stem apex and by the occurrence of deflected and overlapping leaf cushions near the apex. These features are in contradiction with current concepts about the growth of these plants.