Paleobotany: Recent developments and future research directions

The current state of research in the field of paleobotany is reviewed, with emphasis on those areas that deal with more biological approaches to paleobotany. These would include such subjects as the reproductive biology of fossil plants, pollination biology in selected groups, paleobiochemistry, and information on the interaction of plants with other organisms (plant/animal interactions) and their environment (paleoecology). Also discussed are some of the more recent contributions to our understanding of Precambrian paleobiology and early angiosperm reproduction and evolution. Finally, we offer some speculation on the contributions that various areas of paleobotany may provide in the future.