Baiera

Not to be confused with two unaccepted genera with a similar name, Baeria.

Baiera is a genus of prehistoric gymnosperms in the order Ginkgoales.^[2] It is one of the oldest fossil foliage types of Ginkgoales,^[3] and is related to the genera Ginkgo and Ginkgoites. Fossils of Baiera are found worldwide, and have been known from the Permian to the Cretaceous.

Baiera Temporal range: 298.9–94.3 Ma [1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Permian–Cretaceous
Baiera gracilis fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Ginkgophyta
Class:	Ginkgoopsida
Order:	Ginkgoales
Family:	Ginkgoaceae
Genus:	†Baiera Braun [de], 1843
Species
†Baiera africana †Baiera darleyensis †Baiera digitata †Baiera gracilis †Baiera mansfeldensis †Baiera muensteriana

Description

Artist's reconstruction of Baiera.

Baiera species are characterized by fan-shaped leaves,^[4] are deeply lobed into four segments,^[5] deeply incised into slender segments,^[4] and are distinguished from Sphenobaiera by a petiole.^[4]

B. africana is characterized by its symmetrical and triangular leaves.^[6]

Classification

Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Braun first introduced the name Baiera in 1843 to refer to fossils in Germany that he interpreted as ginkgophytes.^[7] In 1936, Carl Rudolf Florin used Baiera to refer to leaves with a distinct stalk or petiole and with a semicircular or triangular shape.^[7]

Placement of Baiera

Gerd Dietl and Günter Schweigert (2011) place Baiera in the family Ginkgoaceae,^[2] while a 2015 classification by Andriy Novikoff and Beata Barabasz-Krasny places it in the Karkeniaceae.^[8][9]