| Abstract: | The cordaitean plants distributed throughout the Carboniferous and Permian of Cathaysian in China. There are four modes of the cordaitean plant preservation, viz. by impression, compression, pith cast, and permineralization. The cordaitean plants preserved by the respective types are listed as follows: 1. By impression, Cordaites principalis, C. schenkii, C. borassifolia, C. vetted, C. sandlimorpha, C. linsiana, C. yujiaensis, C. albostriata, C. linearis, C. dengfengensis, C. oblongifolius; Cordaitanthus volkmannii, C. curtus, C. taiyuanensis, C. rigidus, C. digymois ; 2. By compression, Cordaites baodeensis, C. huainanensis, and one unnamed cuticle of Cordaites in the coal of Taiyuan Formation from Xuzhou Coalfield, Jiangsu Province; 3. By pith cast, Artisia approximata; 4. By pennineralization, including four organ assemblages in the coalballs, namely Shanxioxylon sinense assemblage, Sh. taiyuanense assemblage, Pennsylvanioxylon tianii assemblage and Penn. cf. nauertianum assemblage; and one silified cordaitean stem Dadoxylon ( Cordaites ) sahnii with a septate pith. Cordaitean leaves appeared at first in Visean (Early Carboniferous), but they did not become common until Stephanian (Late Carboniferous) and Early Permian and distributed throughout the south, north and northwest of China. Especially in Taiyuan Formation, Shanxi Formation and Lower Shihezi Formation, up to 13 species of the cordaitean leaves have been recorded. Besides some large leaves, such as Cordaites principalis and C. schenkii etc. and several small ones, such as C. vetteri, C. sandlimorpha, C. linsiana, C. albostriata, C. dentgfengensis and C. oblongifolius appeared in Early Permian. In the early kate Permian, cordaitean leaves were abundant only in the southern part of North China and some places of South China. And they became few in the late Late Permian in the whole region of Cathaysian Flora in China. Cones and seeds of cordaites now are mainly reported from the Lower Permian in north and northwest of China and so did the permineralized cordaitean plants. |
