# New information on the biology of high-latitude late
Permian Glossopteris trees

Anne-Laure Decombeix, Rudolph Serbet

► To cite this version:

Anne-Laure Decombeix, Rudolph Serbet. New information on the biology of high-latitude late Permian Glossopteris trees. 9. Agora Paleobotanica Meeting, Agora Paleobotanica, Jul 2025, Paris, France. hal-05172679

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https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05172679v1

Submitted on 21 Jul 2025

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# New information on the biology of high-latitude late Permian *Glossopteris* trees

Anne-Laure DECOMBEIX<fnref n="1" />*, Rudolph SERBET<fnref n="2" />

The Glossopteridales are an emblematic extinct group of seed plants that dominated most of the floras of the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian period, 298-25l million years ago. Glossopteridales occupied a wide range of habitats and occurred from mid-latitudes to the southern polar regions (> 75°S) where they formed highly productive forests under the late Permian greenhouse climate <fnref n="1" />,<fnref n="2" />. This talk will review some of the information on the biology of Glossopteridales accumulated during the last 15 years of work on permineralized material from late Permian deposits of the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Evidence indicates that these plants could produce a thick insulating bark -at least at the base of the tree ³, had the ability to produce epicormic shoots ⁴, formed endomycorrhizal associations with glomeromycetes ⁵, and may have had various leaf habits (deciduous and evergreen, ⁶). These traits suggest that Glossopteridales could tolerate stressful conditions and colonize a variety of environments. In addition, there are indications of self-facilitation within the group, based on the structure of their rooting systems and evidence of "nurse log" behavior ⁷,⁸. We will also demonstrate that some new specimens show the production of stem-like lateral axes from young glossoperid roots and these are interpreted as evidence of root suckering. This new discovery complements reports of the presence of a lignotuber and/or of basal suckering in some Glossopteridales from Australia ⁹. This is currently the oldest report of root suckering in a fossil plant and it provides additional evidence in favor of high resilience potential among glossoperidans.

1. Cantrill D.J. & Poole I. 2012. The Vegetation of Antarctica through Geological Time. 480p. Camb. U. Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. Miller M.F., Knepprath N.E., Cantrill D.J., Francis J.E., & Isbell J.L. 2016. Highly productive polar forests from the Permian of Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 441: 292-304

3. Decombeix A.-L., Taylor E.L. & Taylor T.N. 2016. Bark anatomy of Late Permian glossoperid trees from Antarctica. IAWA Journal 37, 444-458

4. Decombeix A.-L., Taylor E.L. & Taylor T.N. 2010. Epicormic shoots in a Permian gymnosperm from Antarctica. International Journal of Plant Sciences 171, 772-782

5. Harper C.J., Taylor T.N., Krings M. & Taylor E.L. 2013. Mycorrhizal symbiosis in the Paleozoic seed fern Glossopteris from Antarctica. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 192, 22-31.

6. Gulbranson E.L., Ryberg P.E., Decombeix A.-L., Taylor E.L., Taylor T.N. & Isbell J.L. 2014. Leaf habit of Late Permian Glossopteris trees from high-paleolatitude forests. Journal of the Geological Society 171, 193-507

7. Decombeix A.-L. & Rowe N.P. 2018. Functional significance of cambial development in Vertebraria roots: How do unusual xylem traits serve life at a high latitude? In Krings M., Harper C.J., Cúneo N.R. & Rothwell G.W. (eds): Transformative Paleobotany: Papers to Commemorate the Life and Legacy of Thomas N. Taylor, 629-643. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

8. Decombeix A.-L., Durieux T., Harper C.J., Serbet R. & Taylor E.L. 2021. A Permian nurse log and evidence for facilitation in high-latitude Glossopteris forests. Lethaia 54: 96-105.

9. McLoughlin S. & Prevec R. 2021. The reproductive biology of glossoperid gymnosperms—A review. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 295: 104527

Acknowledgments: Thibault Durieux, Carla J. Harper (Trinity College Dublin), Nick Rowe (UMR AMAP), and Patricia Ryberg (Park University) are thanked for their important contributions to some of the previous research summarized in this talk, and Brian Atkinson (the University of Kansas) for facilitating access to the fossil material.

<footnote n="1">¹UMR AMAP, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, CIRAD, INRA, IRD, Montpellier, France</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Division of Paleobotany, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA</footnote>

<footnote>* anne-laure.decombeix@cnrs.fr</footnote>