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2025 in paleobotany
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Fossil plant research presented in 2025 includes new taxa that were described during the year, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleobotany that occurred in 2025.
Algae
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Charophytes
Chlorophytes
Rhodophytes
Phycological research
- A study on the reproduction of Eugonophyllum, based on fossils from the Carboniferous (Gzhelian) Maping Formation (Guizhou, China), is published by Wang et al. (2025).[10]
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Non-vascular plants
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Bryophyta
Marchantiophyta
Non-vascular plant research
- Evidence of impact of socio-economic and language factors on the documentation of bryophyte fossil record is presented by Blanco-Moreno, Bippus & Tomescu (2025).[22]
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Lycophytes
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Lycophyte research
- Zavialova & Polevova (2025) review the distribution of multilamellated zones in spores of extant and fossil lycopsids, and interpret their presence as possible evidence of isoetalean affinity of fossil plants, while noting that their absence does not definitively exclude the possibly of affinities with this group.[28]
- A study on leaf cushions of Sigillaria approximata, providing evidence of independent evolution of leaf abscission in arboreous lycopsids and in euphyllophytes, is published by D'Antonio (2025).[29]
Ferns and fern allies
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Pteridological research
- New fossil material of Nemejcopteris haiwangii, providing evidence of climbing on Psaronius tree hosts, is described from Permian strata of the Taiyuan Formation in the Wuda Coalfield (Inner Mongolia, China) by Li et al. (2025).[44]
- Branched networks of tubules interpreted as probable root fossils of herbaceous leptosporangiate ferns are described from the Middle-Upper Triassic strata in Somerset (United Kingdom) by Howson, Tucker & Whitaker (2025).[45]
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Conifers
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Cheirolepidiaceae
Cupressaceae
Pinaceae
Podocarpaceae
Taxaceae
Conifer research
- Sagasti et al. (2025) describe conifer wood (likely Cupressinoxylon) from the Upper Jurassic strata in Scotland (United Kingdom), preserving evidence of breakdown of wood by fungal rot, arthropod borings and eventual colonization by plant roots, and representing the first known case of a Jurassic nurse log from the Northern Hemisphere.[58]
- A new plant assemblage, including only conifer fossils, is described from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) strata of the Paja Formation from Vélez, Santander (central Colombia) by Palma-Castro, Benavides-Cabra & Herrera (2025).[59]
- Tian et al. (2025) describe parasitic fungi infecting a podocarpaceous wood specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (China), and report evidence of tylosis formation in the studied wood interpreted as a defense response to the fungal infection.[60]
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Gnetophyta
Flowering plants
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Magnoliids
Magnoliid research
- Beurel et al. (2025) study the phylogenetic affinities of Nothophylica piloburmensis, and recover it as a member of Laurales related to the families Lauraceae and Hernandiaceae.[68]
Monocots
Alismatales
Arecales
Liliales
Poales
Monocot research
- Evidence from a fossil-calibrated phylogeny of palms, indicating that diversification rates of palms changed during global warming and cooling events from the mid-Cretaceous to the end of the Oligocene, is presented by Yao et al. (2025).[76]
- Khan et al. (2025) describe fossil material of palms with one metaxylem vessel in each fibrovascular bundle from the Maastrichtian-Danian Deccan Intertrappean Beds (India), and interpret the studied fossils as Cocos-type palms belonging to the subfamily Arecoideae that likely grew in a tropical rainforest.[77]
- Evidence from the study of phytoliths from the Giraffe locality (Northwest Territories, Canada), indicative of presence of palms close to the Arctic Circle over an extensive period of time during the Eocene (approximately 48 million years ago), is presented by Siver et al. (2025).[78]
- Jacobs et al. (2025) describe phytoliths of members of Pharoideae from the Miocene strata in Ethiopia and a leaf with similarities to leaves of extant members of the genera Leptaspis and Scrotochloa from the Miocene strata in Kenya, providing evidence of presence of the group in African forests by the early Miocene.[79]
Basal eudicots
Basal eudicot research
- A study on the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of members of Cissampelideae, as indicated by morphology of endocarps of extant and fossil taxa as well as by molecular data, is published by Lian, Zhang & Wang (2025).[83]
Superasterids
Apiales
Aquifoliales
Ericales
Gentianales
Icacinales
Superrosids
Fabales
Fagales
Malpighiales
Malvales
Rosales
Sapindales
Superrosid research
- Ali et al. (2025) describe a gland-bearing petal of cf. Mcvaughia sp. from the Eocene Palana Formation (India), interpreted as possible evidence that members of the lineage of the studied plant already had volatile glands used to attract pollinators (possibly anthophorid bees) in the early Eocene.[106]
- Hazra & Khan (2025) report the discovery of a diverse assemblage of legume fruits and leaflet remains from the Rajdanda Formation (India), interpreted as evidence of the presence of a warm and humid tropical environment during the Pliocene.[107]
- A study on the anatomy of wood of extant members of the genus Ficus and fossil wood with affinities to Ficus, and on its implications for determination of the organs preserved as fossil wood and their habits, is published by Monje Dussán, Pederneiras & Angyalossy (2025).[108]
- Hamersma et al. (2025) revise Sahnianthus parijai from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds, interpret it as a member or a relative of the family Lythraceae, and identify Chitaleypushpam mohgaonense, Deccananthus savitrii, Raoanthus intertrappea, Flosfemina intertrappea, Flosvirulis deccanensis, Menispermaceopushpam amanganjii, Liliaceopushpam deccanii, Lythraceopushpam mohgaoense and Surangepushpam deccanii as junior synonyms of S. parijai.[109]
- A leaf of Swintonia floribunda, representing the oldest record of the genus Swintonia reported to date, is described from the Oligocene Tikak Parbat Formation (India) by Bhatia & Srivastava (2025), who interpret this finding as supporting the Gondwanan origin of the Anacardiaceae.[110]
- Chen et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Toddalia nanlinensis from the Yangyi Formation (Yunnan, China), extending known temporal range of the species into the latest Miocene and providing evidence of a warm, humid climate and presence of forest vegetation in the Baoshan Basin at the time.[111]
- The first fossil material assigned to a living endangered tropical tree species (Dryobalanops rappa) is described from the Plio-Pleistocene strata from Brunei by Wang et al. (2025).[112]
Other angiosperms
General angiosperm research
- A study on the timing of the evolution of the flowering plants is published by Ma et al. (2025), who recover the crown group of the flowering plants as likely originating in the Triassic.[116]
- Clark & Donoghue (2025) study the impact of interpretations of the plant fossil record on molecular clock estimates of the timing of origin of the flowering plants, and estimate that the crown group of the flowering plants diverged in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous interval.[117]
- Ding et al. (2025) review fossil and molecular evidence of origin and development of floras dominated by flowering plants, and identify five major phases of the studied process.[118]
- Mendes et al. (2025) study the ultrastructure of pollen of Saportanthus, interpret the studied angiosperm as the sister taxon of monocots, and support placement of Jamesrosea and Lovellea within Laurales.[119]
- Doughty et al. (2025) use a mechanistic model to study the relationship between seed size of flowering plants, their light environment and the size of animals in their environment, and predict a rapid increase of seed size during the Paleocene that eventually plateaued or declined, likely as a result of the appearance of large herbivores that opened the understory, reducing the competitive advantage of plants with large seeds.[120]
- Cham et al. (2025) develop a method for reconstructing the rate of carbon assimilation in leaves, and apply it to Miocene flowering plants from the Clarkia fossil beds (Idaho, United States).[121]
- Evidence from the study of leaves of extant trees from the Nantahala National Forest (North Carolina, United States), indicative of utility of analyses of leaf traits for reconstructions of successional dynamics of fossil plants, is presented by Lowe et al. (2025).[122]
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Other plants
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Other plant research
- Kocheva et al. (2025) study the composition of compressions of the Orestovia-like plants, and do not exclude the possibility that such fossils represent higher plants rather than algae.[142]
- Krings (2025) identifies epidermal cells of Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii from the Devonian Rhynie chert (United Kingdom) with wall appositions encasing invasive fungal hyphae, representing the oldest record of such defense mechanism in plants reported to date.[143]
- Huang & Zhang (2025) revise the holotype specimen of Zosterophyllum spathulatum from the Devonian Xujiachong Formation as a specimen of Adoketophyton subverticillatum, expanding known geographical range of the genus Adoketophyton.[144]
- Doran & Tomescu (2025) identify emergences with possible rooting function in Psilophyton crenulatum from the Devonian Val d'Amour Formation (New Brunswick, Canada), potentially representing the oldest euphyllophyte rooting structures reported to date.[145]
- A study on wood anatomy of Devonian euphyllophytes from the Battery Point Formation (Quebec, Canada) is published by Casselman & Tomescu (2025), who identify secondary xylem metrics that allow for distinguishing between different euphyllophyte taxa.[146]
- The first description of the stomatal structure of Odontopteris schlotheimii is published by Šimůnek & Cleal (2025).[147]
- Description of reproductive structures of members of Umkomasiaceae from the Triassic Cañadón Largo Formation (Argentina) is published by Villalva & Gnaedinger (2025), who determine the relationships between the studied structures and fronds.[148]
- A study on the epidermal anatomy of Pterophyllum ptilum from the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation (China) is published by Lu et al. (2025).[149]
- A study on the leaf anatomy of Ptilophyllum riparium from the Middle Jurassic strata in Central Russia is published by Bazhenova & Bazhenov (2025).[150]
- Partial leaf representing the first record of a fossil Cycas from Australia is described from the Miocene Stuarts Creek site by Greenwood, Conran & West (2025).[151]
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Palynology
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Palynological research
- Evidence from the study of planktonic palynomorph assemblages from the Upper Paleozoic strata from the Paraná Basin (Brazil), indicative of impact of environmental conditions on the distribution of algal elements in palynological successions corresponding to the late Paleozoic icehouse, is presented by Bender et al. (2025).[156]
- Wang, Sun & Shi (2025) study the composition of palynological assemblages from the Roadian Lucaogou and Hongyanchi formation, Capitanian Quanzijie Formation and Wuchiapingian Wutonggou Formation (China), and interpret changes in composition of the studied assemblages through time as consistent with extinction on the background level during the Capitanian mass extinction event.[157]
- Nhamutole et al. (2025) study the composition of palynological assemblages from the Permian (Lopingian) strata of the Maniamba Basin (Mozambique), reporting evidence of the presence of plants indicative of lowland fluvial setting.[158]
- Hotton et al. (2025) study the composition of the late Permian palynoflora from the Spearfish Formation (South Dakota, United States), providing evidence of similarities with the Lopingian palynofloras from Europe and evidence of spread of xerophytic flora across low-latitude Pangaea at that time.[159]
- Evidence from the study of palynological assemblages from the South Chinese Meishan section, indicative of presence of persistent gymnosperm-dominated vegetation during the Permian-Triassic transition, is presented by Schneebeli-Hermann & Galasso (2025).[160]
- Evidence from the study of palynofloral assemblages from the Germig Section (Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; Tibet, China), interpreted as indicative of a shift from floras dominated by seed ferns and conifers to floras dominated by cheirolepids during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, is presented by Li et al. (2025).[161]
- A study on palynofloral assemblages from the Lower Jurassic Rodiles Formation (Spain), providing evidence of presence of arid environment with Cheirolepidiaceae-dominated forests before the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, shift to a more humid environment and a fern-dominated flora during this event and return of drier conditions and Cheirolepidiaceae forests after the event, is published by Fernández-Rial et al. (2025).[162]
- Description of the palynological assemblage from the Middle Jurassic Challacó Formation (Argentina), including a Mesozoic record of the otherwise Proterozoic to Paleozoic taxon Gloeocapsomorpha, is presented by Olivera et al. (2025).[163]
- Zhang et al. (2025) study the composition of the Valanginian palynoflora from the Sao Khua Formation (Thailand), providing evidence of presence of a flora dominated by Cheirolepidiaceae growing in a humid subtropical climate with periodic arid seasons.[164]
- Tricolpate pollen, identified as pollen of flowering plants belonging to the eudicot clade, is described from the Barremian strata from nearshore marine sediments in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) by Gravendyck et al. (2025).[165]
- A study on the composition of the gymnosperm-dominated palynoflora from the Lower Cretaceous strata from the Koonwarra fossil bed (Australia) is published by Vajda et al. (2025).[166]
- Evidence from the study of palynological assemblages from the Barremian–Aptian Gippsland Basin and the Albian Otway Basin (Victoria, Australia), indicative of a high-rainfall regime of a floral turnover in the studied resulting in different composition of the assemblages from the studied basins, is presented by Korasidis & Wagstaff (2025).[167]
- Hofmann et al. (2025) describe twelve species of the pollen taxon Eucommiidtes from the Lower Cretaceous Rio da Batateira and Crato formations (Araripe Basin, Brazil), providing evidence of greater diversity and abundance of members of Erdtmanithecales in the plant assemblages known from the studied formations than indicated by known macrofossils.[168]
- A study on palynological samples from the lower member of the Aptian-Albian Río Tarde Formation (Argentina), providing evidence of presence of fern, gymnosperms and freshwater algae and evidence of warm and humid climate, is published by Matamala et al. (2025).[169]
- Lin et al. (2025) reconstruct the vegetation and environmental conditions during the early evolution of the Songliao Basin on the basis of pollen and spores from core samples near the base of the Aptian Shahezi Formation (China).[170]
- A new Albian palynoflora dominated by gymnospermous pollen is described from the Binggou Formation (Liaoning, China) by Tan et al. (2025).[171]
- A study on palynofloral assemblages from the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain), providing evidence of gradual shift from conifer-dominated floras to ones with increased presence of flowering plants through the Albian–Cenomanian, is published by Rodríguez-Barreiro et al. (2025).[172]
- Evidence from the study of palynomorph and palynofacies from the Bahariya Formation (Egypt), interpreted as indicative of warm and humid climate during the early-middle Cenomanian with a short episode of semi-arid to arid conditions during the late early Cenomanian, is presented by Abdelhalim et al. (2025).[173]
- Evidence from the study of palynoflora from Deccan Intertrappean Beds in the southeastern part of the Deccan Volcanic Province (India), interpreted as indicating that the onset of Deccan volcanism was favourable for the proliferation of ecosystems dominated by flowering plants, is presented by Samant et al. (2025).[174]
- Vieira & Jolley (2025) describe Classopollis pollen (produced by members of the family Cheirolepidiaceae) from the Paleocene sedimentary rocks of the Antrim Lava Group (Northern Ireland, United Kingdom), and interpret the studied pollen as reworked from Cretaceous strata.[175]
- Evidence from the study of palynological assemblages from the Llanos basin (Colombia), indicative of impact of environmental changes on the diversification of Neotropical plants during the Cenozoic, is presented by de la Parra & Benson (2025).[176]
- Rull (2025) revises purported fossil pollen records of Pelliciera found outside the Neotropics, and argues that only a subset of Cenozoic pollen records from tropical West Africa can be confirmed as likely fossils of members of Pelliciera.[177]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of pollen from the Bighorn Basin (Wyoming, United States) and from pollination mode of extant plants related to the fossil taxa, interpreted as indicating that animal pollination became more common during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, is presented by Korasidis et al. (2025).[178]
- A study on the fossil pollen from the Sonari Lignite Mine (Rajasthan, India), providing evidence of changes of composition of the plant assemblage from the studied area during the Paleocene-Eocene transition, is published by Parmar, Singh & Prasad (2025).[179]
- Revision of the fossil pollen of members of Fabales, Rosales, Fagales, Malpighiales, Myrtales, Sapindales, Malvales, Santalales and Caryophyllales from the palynological assemblage from the Eocene Messel Formation (Germany) is published by Bouchal et al. (2025).[180]
- Evidence from the study of fossil pollen from the Dingqinghu Formation (China), indicative of presence of a mixed deciduous and coniferous forest in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the Oligocene-Miocene transition, is presented by Xie et al. (2025).[181]
- Malaikanok et al. (2025) study the fossil pollen of members of Ericales from the Oligocene-Miocene strata from the Ban Pa Kha Subbasin of the Li Basin (Thailand), identifying 24 different pollen types, and interpret the studied pollen as possible fossil record of different vertical vegetation belts in the mountainous areas.[182]
- A new palynological assemblage, providing evidence of presence of forest swamp vegetation, is described from the Pliocene strata from Moormerland (Lower Saxony, Germany) by Stojakowits, Rösch & Röhm (2025).[183]
- Evidence from the study of pollen record from the Zoige Basin, indicative of changes of vegetation in the Tibetan Plateau related to temperature changes during the last 3.5 million years, is presented by Zhao et al. (2025).[184]
- A study on the environment and climate in Java (Indonesia) during the early Pleistocene, based on data from palynological assemblages from the Kalibiuk and Kaliglagah formations, is published by Morley & Morley (2025), who interpret the studied assemblages as indicative of a strongly seasonal climate, and interpret the assemblages from the Kalibuik Formation and the basal Kaliglagah Formation as indicative of presence of a large delta dominated by mangroves, while considering the assemblages from the upper Kaliglagah Formation to be consistent with the presence of a freshwater swamp.[185]
- Evidence from the study of pollen record from the eastern Mainland Southeast Asia, indicative of presence of forest-seasonal savanna mosaics in the studied region during the Last Glacial Maximum, is presented by Lin et al. (2025), who find no evidence of presence of savanna corridors linking the Leizhou Peninsula and Singapore during the Last Glacial Maximum.[186]
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General research
- Review of the structure of 38 fossil forests ranging from the Middle Devonian Epoch to the Jurassic is published by Liu, Xu & Wang (2025).[187]
- A study on changes of diversity of late Paleozoic plants, providing evidence of major vegetation changes in the Mississippian-Guadalupian interval, is published by Molina-Solís et al. (2025).[188]
- A study on the floral assemblage from the Permian strata of the East Bokaro Coalfield (India), providing evidence of the presence of a diverse ecosystem of large trees and shrubs, is published by Dash et al. (2025).[189]
- Kock & Bamford (2025) study growth rings in fossil woods from the Permian Beaufort Group (South Africa), and interpret their findings as indicative of a stable climate with no significant differences between the middle and late Permian.[190]
- Ferraz et al. (2025) report the discovery of a diverse plant association in the Guadalupian strata from the Cerro Chato outcrop (Paraná Basin, Brazil).[191]
- Evidence of changes of composition of gigantopterid-dominated rainforests known from the Longtan Formation (China) during the Lopingian is presented by Shu et al. (2025), who also report evidence of the presence of climbing structures in Gigantonoclea.[192]
- Evidence from the study of fossil material from the South Taodonggou Section in the Turpan-Hami Basin (China), interpreted as indicative of presence of a refugium of land vegetation that preserved the stability of food chains during the Permian–Triassic extinction event and might have been one of the source regions for the diversification of terrestrial life in the aftermath of the extinction event, is presented by Peng et al. (2025).[193]
- Evidence of a staggered recovery of plant communities from the Sydney Basin (Australia) in the aftermath of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, indicative of the presence of a succession gymnosperm-dominated and lycophyte-dominated plant communities lasting until the early Middle Triassic, is presented by Amores et al. (2025).[194]
- Xu et al. (2025) link prolonged high CO2 levels and extreme hothouse climate during the Early Triassic to losses of terrestrial vegetation during the Permian–Triassic extinction event.[195]
- McLoughlin, Vajda & Crowley (2025) determine the flora from the upper part of the Red Cliff Coal Measures (New South Wales, Australia) to be late Norian in age, and interpret the entirety of Ipswich Coal Measures as likely to be Norian.[196]
- A study on the composition of plant assemblages from the Astartekløft and South Tancrediakløft localities (Jameson Land, Greenland), providing evidence of a floristic turnover during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, is published by Knetge et al. (2025).[197]
- Quiroz-Cabascango et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new plant assemblage dominated by ginkgoopsids, cheirolepid conifers and ferns from the Hettangian Helsingborg Member of the Höganäs Formation (Sweden), providing evidence of recovery of vegetation in the aftermath of the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event.[198]
- Evidence from the study of molecular fossils from the Sangonghe Formation (China), indicative of a shift from a fern-dominated flora to a gymnosperm-dominated one during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event and eventual return to fern dominance, is presented by Wang et al. (2025).[199]
- A study on the composition of the Middle Jurassic plant assemblage from the Khamarkhoovor Formation (Mongolia) is published by Muraviev et al. (2025).[200]
- Chen et al. (2025) identify seven types of gymnosperm (including bennettitalean and conifer) cuticles from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) flora from the Arda Formation (Jordan), and report evidence of similarities of the studied flora to other Jurassic floras from the Middle East.[201]
- Evidence of the presence of a plant community dominated by ferns belonging to the family Osmundaceae, similar to extant plant communities such as those from swamp settings from the Parana Forest in northeastern Argentina, is reported from the Jurassic La Matilde Formation (Argentina) by García Massini et al. (2025).[202]
- A diverse assemblage of opalized plant fossils is described from the Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) Griman Creek Formation (Australia) by McLoughlin et al. (2025).[203]
- Coiffard et al. (2025) revise the Cenomanian flora from the Bahariya Formation (Egypt) on the basis of the study of known and new fossil leaves, and identify three distinct floral associations.[204]
- Silva et al. (2025) study the taphonomy of exceptionally preserved plant remains from the Upper Cretaceous Santa Marta Formation (Antarctica).[205]
- Stiles et al. (2025) reconstruct the evolutionary history of vegetation in Argentine Patagonia during the Cenozoic on the basis of phytoliths from the San Jorge Basin, reporting evidence of presence of lowland humid megathermal forests from Paleocene to the middle Eocene, colder, more arid climate and more open vegetation beginning between the middle and late Eocene, return of humid forests and increased abundance of grasses between the early and middle Miocene, and rise of Patagonian steppe vegetation between the middle Miocene and the Quaternary.[206]
- Evidence from the study of phytoliths from the Lunpola Basin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, interpreted as indicative of presence mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest during the late Oligocene–Early Miocene, is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).[207]
- A study on the timing of the uplift of the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes, based on composition of fossil plant communities from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (China), is published by Lai et al. (2025).[208]
- Evidence indicating that climate and geographic changes in the Miocene resulted in vegetation changes that in turn caused climate change feedbacks that impacted cooling and precipitation changes during the late Miocene climate transition is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).[209]
- Evidence from the study of plant macrofossils and palynoflora from the Pisco Formation (Peru), indicative of presence of a diverse dry forest biome in the area of present-day coastal Peruvian desert during the Miocene, is presented by Ochoa et al. (2025).[210]
- A study on ancient DNA from sediment cores from lakes in Alaska and Siberia, providing evidence of plant extinctions associated with environmental changes during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, is published by Courtin et al. (2025).[211]
- Evidence of changes of the upper range limit of trees in the Tibetan Plateau since the Last Glacial Maximum, and of a relationship between those changes and pattern of beta diversity of the studied flora, is presented Xu et al. (2025).[212]
- El-Saadawi et al. (2025) present an annotated catalog of plant macrofossil remains from Egypt, including fossils ranging from Devonian to Quaternary.[213]
- Jardine, Morck & Lomax (2025) compare the utility of morphological traits which might be proxies for genome size of fossil plants, and report evidence of a robust relationship between genome size and guard cell length in plants.[214]
- Liu et al. (2025) review the development and application of artificial intelligence in paleobotany and palynology from the 1980s to 2025.[215]
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References
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