RECLASSIFICATION OF PSILOPHYTA

1975/08/01 by Harlan P. Banks · 122 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Diversity and Evolution #Fern and Epiphyte Biology #Plant and animal studies #Taxon #Geography #Test (biology) #Genealogy #History #Ecology #Biology

paper · doi:10.2307/1219491

published in Taxon 24(4), 401-413 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 1975/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Summary The historical reasons for the failure to abandon the category Psilophyta until long after it had become a catchall group for unrelated taxa are reviewed. Recent advances in the understanding of the major types of early land plants are summarized in order to test the usefulness of the three Subdivisions of Tracheophyta that were proposed by Banks in 1968; Rhyniophytina, Zosterophyllophytina, Trimerophytina.

Cited by

• Fossils and plant phylogeny
• A new species of Baragwanathia from the Sextant Formation (Emsian) Northern Ontario, Canada
• The fossil plants from the Lower Devonian of Marchin (northern margin of Dinant Synclinorium, Belgium). V. Psilophyton genseliae sp. nov., with hypotheses on the origin of Trimerophytina
• New observations on Sawdonia ornata from Scotland
• Aglaophyton major, a non-vascular land-plant from the Devonian Rhynie Chert
• Embryophytic sporophytes in the Rhynie and Windyfield cherts
• Pertica [wikipedia]
• Polysporangiophyte [wikipedia]
• Psilophyton [wikipedia]
• Trimerophytopsida [wikipedia]
• Zosterophyll [wikipedia]