It may also have been an understory shrub in the arborescent lycopsid forests of the same time period. Stems are up to 2 cm in diameter and can display many orders of branching. Xylem development is commonly exarch , although mesarch development has been described. Bowmanites has sporangia attached to sporophylls on a stalk that curves back toward the strobilus axis. Compare to what is written below about e.g. Ibyka .
Clades originating from a grade, that is.
Our best data now suggests that the lycopsids diverged early, even before the evolution of the trimerophyte grade plants. However, the relationship of these mid-Devonian genera to the fern and sphenopsid clades still remain controversial.