"Seed Ferns"

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Alethopteris seilii
© 1998 Dr. Richard Paselk, Humboldt State University Natural History Museum

Neuropteris
© 2003 Spencer Lucas, New Mexico Museum of Natural History

Callixylon
© 2001 Richard Schrantz

What are "Seed Ferns"? The “seed ferns,” (pteridosperms), were plants that produced seeds but had foliage like ferns. They are thought to have grown as trees, shrubs, or vines, and although they all looked like ferns, their relationships to other plants are still being studied. Members of this group first appeared in the Early Carboniferous, and all were extinct by the Cretaceous.

First known fossil occurrence: Carboniferous.

Last known fossil occurrence: Cretaceous.

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