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The oldes Flora in the Alps

More than 315 million year of living worlds

The Eastern Alpine floras from the Lower Carboniferous (Viséum) are generally poorly preserved and fragmented. But they are interesting because the giant clubmosses such as Lepidodendron and Sigillaria, as well as the Calamites horsetails (Archaeocalamites radiatus) were already fully developed in this early geological period. In addition, fern communities were widespread.

Within the rich Carboniferous flora of the Alps, the “Steinacher Flora” (Stubai Alps) deposited around 315 million years ago (Middle Moscovian to Lower Bashkirian) on the border ridge between North and South Tyrol plays a special role, although it has rarely attracted the attention of scientists. Above all, the abundance of fossil ferns stands out, although some of them have been preserved in such good quality that it is possible to become clarity about their structure and their fertile characteristics. The club moss trees were dominated by Lepidodendron alpinus n. sp. with large homosporous cones and Lepidodendron pichleri, while in the horsetails Calamites steinachii n. sp. is common. It is also interesting that the primitive flora from the Devonian and Lower Carboniferous with difficult to recognize evolutionary lines has now come to an end, which enables interpretations of the development of a wide variety of families and genera up to the present day.

With over 400 photos and drawings

Michael Wachtler

The oldes Flora in the Alps

Dolomythos-Museum, ISSN 2974-7376, 4/3, p. 96, year 2025
Euro 49,00

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