The History of Land Plants

Fossil and Natural Specimens from Display Case 3: How have plants changed?

Seed plant, boldly growing where no plant has grown before.

Scale: white + black square = 2 cm

          Preserved probable Pinus coulteri                                       Pinus sp., Upper Oligocene epoch,       

             IUS Dept. of Biology Collection                               Bad Kruezanch, Germany, From the collection of

                                                                                                           The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

   Cycas sp., Preserved fertile leaves with large seeds            Cast of Trigonocarpas sp., Mississippian, Kentucky

                IUS Department. of Biology Collection                                         IUS Department. of Biology Collection

    Araucaria mirabilis cone showing internal structure                        Araucaria mirabilis cone (exterior)

Middle Jurassic, Cerro Cuadrato, Patagonia, Argentina

Both from the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

                Araucaria mirabilis cone on stem                                                Elkinsia polymorpha with seeds

Middle Jurassic, Cerro Cuadrato, Patagonia, Argentina                             Late Devonian, West Virginia

   Collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis                       IUS Department. of Biology Collection

                        Dicroidium acutifolium leaf                                                         Dicroidium odontopteroides leaf

    Middle Triassic, Dinmore, Queensland, Australia                        Late Triassic, Dinmore, Queensland, Australia

                                                                      Both specimens from a private collection

    Ginkgo leaves and fruit herbarium sheet                    Glossopteris sp., Illawara Coal Measures,

      IUS Department. of Biology Collection           Upper Permian, Dunedoo, New South Wales, Australia

                                                                                      Collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

Invasion of Land

The First Trees

Monster Plants That Created Coal  

Plants the Dinosaurs Ate 

Flowering Plants: The New Revolution