Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is a massive conifer native to coastal California and Oregon. …
Redwood (Sequoia condita)
IUCN: Вымерший вид
Silhouette: Michele M Tobias
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Sequoia condita - Extinct Cretaceous Redwood Species
Millions of years ago, in the ancient floodplains and dense, humid forests of Cretaceous North America, giant prehistoric conifers shaped the landscape. Among these ancient forest giants was Sequoia condita, an extinct ancestor of modern redwoods that flourished during the Early Cretaceous epoch.
Fossilized imprints of Sequoia condita discovered across the continent show that these gymnosperms thrived alongside early flowering plants. Today, these ancient remains help paleobotanists reconstruct the lost ecosystems of what is now Canada and the United States.
Understanding the distribution and fossil history of Sequoia condita offers a unique window into how conifer families adapted to changing climates over millions of years. As one of the early representatives of its lineage, it reflects the deep antiquity of the redwood family.
Taxonomy
- ∟ царство Plantae
- ∟ division Tracheophytes (Vascular Plants)
- ∟ subdivision Spermatophytes (Seed plants)
- ∟ superclass Gymnospermae (Gymnosperms)
- ∟ division Pinophyta
- ∟ subclass Cupressidae
- ∟ order Cupressales (Cypresses and junipers)
- ∟ family Cupressaceae (Cypress Family)
- ∟ subfamily Sequoioideae (Sequoias)
- ∟ genus Sequoia (Coast redwood)
- ∟ species Sequoia condita (Redwood)
Morphology
The fossil record of Sequoia condita primarily consists of impressions of foliage branches and carbonized reproductive cones. The leaves exhibited a spiral arrangement along young branches, with shapes ranging from linear-lanceolate to scale-like, featuring distinctly decurrent bases that merged with the stem.
The female cones (strobili) were woody structures with a globose to oval shape. Each cone featured spirally arranged peltate scales, with a flattened or slightly concave outer face, morphological characteristics that evolutively bring them closer to modern giant sequoias.
Interesting facts
- Geographical Reach: Fossil evidence of Sequoia condita is spread across North America, with significant discoveries in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the US state of Kansas.
- Deep Time: This species dates back to the Early Cretaceous epoch, a time when dinosaurs still dominated the land and the climate was significantly warmer and more humid than it is today.
- Ancestral Heritage: As an ancient relative of the modern Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Sequoia condita represents a crucial evolutionary link in the history of conifer development.
Geography of distribution
- Canada
- United States
Sources
See also
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