Gumuia

Gumuia is a genus of extinct vascular plants of the Early Devonian (Pragian or Siegenian, around 410 million years ago). The genus was first described in 1989 based on fossil specimens from the Posongchong Formation, Wenshan district, Yunnan, China.^[1]

Gumuia Temporal range: Early Devonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Lycophytes
Plesion:	†Zosterophylls
Genus:	†Gumuia S.G.Hao (1989)[1]
Species
†G. zyzzata S.G.Hao (1989)[1]

Description and phylogeny

The sporophyte of G. zyzzata consisted of leafless stems (axes) with an apparently sympodial organization. Fertile stems had a spike-like organization, with both lateral and terminal sporangia (spore-forming organs); successive sporangia developed on alternate sides of short stems. The genus was tentatively placed in the "zosterophylls".^[1]

A cladogram published in 2004 by Crane et al. places Gumia in a paraphyletic stem group of broadly defined "zosterophylls", basal to the lycopsids (living and extinct clubmosses and relatives).^[2]

lycophytes

† Hicklingia  †basal groups  Adoketophyton, Discalis, Distichophytum (=Rebuchia), Gumuia, Huia, Zosterophyllum myretonianum, Z. llanoveranum, Z. fertile  †'core' zosterophylls  Zosterophyllum divaricatum, Tarella, Oricilla, Gosslingia, Hsua, Thrinkophyton, Protobarinophyton, Barinophyton obscurum, B. citrulliforme, Sawdonia, Deheubarthia, Konioria, Anisophyton, Serrulacaulis, Crenaticaulis  †basal groups  Nothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum  lycopsids  extant and extinct members

Hao and Xue in 2013 listed the genus as a zosterophyll.^[3]