Often regarded as the 'Cinderella' of palaeontological studies, palaeobotany has a history that contains some fascinating insights into scientific endeavour, especially by palaeontologists who were perusing a personal interest rather than a career. The problems of maintaining research facilities in universities, especially in the modern era, are described and reveal a noticeable absence of a national UK strategy to preserve centres of excellence in an avowedly specialist area. Accounts of some of the pioneers demonstrate the importance of collaboration between taxonomists and illustrators. The importance of palaeobotany in the rise of geoconservation is outlined, as well as the significant and influential role of women in the discipline. Although this volume has a predominantly UK focus, two very interesting studies outline the history of palaeobotanical work in Argentina and China.

This book provides up-to-date coverage of fossil plants from Precambrian life to flowering plants, including fungi and algae. It begins with a discussion of geologic time, how organisms are preserved in the rock record, and how organisms are studied and interpreted and takes the student through all the relevant uses and interpretations of fossil plants. With new chapters on additional flowering plant families, paleoecology and the structure of ancient plant communities, fossil plants as proxy records for paleoclimate, new methodologies used in phylogenetic reconstruction and the addition of new fossil plant discoveries since 1993, this book provides the most comprehensive account of the geologic history and evolution of microbes, algae, fungi, and plants through time. - Major revision of a 1993 classic reference - Lavishly illustrated with 1,800 images and user friendly for use by paleobotanists, biologists, geologists and other related scientists - Includes an expanded glossary with an extensive up-to-date bibliography and a comprehensive index - Provides extensive coverage of fungi and other microbes, and major groups of land plants both living and extinct

Transformative Paleobotany: Papers to Commemorate the Life and Legacy of Thomas N. Taylor features the broadest possible spectrum of topics analyzing the structure, function and evolution of fossil plants, microorganisms, and organismal interactions in fossil ecosystems (e.g., plant paleobiography, paleoecology, early evolution of land plants, fossil fungi and microbial interactions with plants, systematics and phylogeny of major plant and fungal lineages, biostratigraphy, evolution of organismal interactions, ultrastructure, Antarctic paleobotany). The book includes the latest research from top scientists who have made transformative contributions. Sections are richly illustrated, well concepted, and characterize and summarize the most up-to-date understanding of this respective and important field of study. - Features electronic supplements, such as photographs, diagrams, tables, flowcharts and links to other websites - Includes in-depth illustrations with diagrams, flowcharts and photographic plates (many in color for enhanced utility), tables and graphs

There have been at least ten English-language textbooks of palaeobotany since D. H. Scott published the first edition of Studies inFossilBotany in 1900. Most have been written by scientists who were primarily botanists by training, and were aimed largely at a readership familiar with living plants. They tended to follow a general pattern of an introductory chapter on preservation of plants as fossils, followed by a systematic treatment, group by group. Only Seward in his Plant Life Through the Ages departed from this pattern in presenting a chronological sequence. In the present book, Meyen breaks with?is tradition. Although having a basically biological approach, he reaches out into all aspects of the history of plant life and the wider implication of its study. Only half of the present work deals sequentially with fossil plant groups, treated systematically. The remainder then explores those topics which most other textbooks have incidentally??e generally either ignored or have only mentioned rather problems of naming and classifying fragmentary plant fossils, their ecology; biogeography and palaeoclimatic significance and the contribution that?ey have made to the understanding of living plant morphology, and of the process of evolution.