ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Critical review of research
on the Lower Jurassic flora of Poland
1 | Department of Palaeobotany and Palaeoherbarium, Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Lubicz 46,
31-512 Kraków, Poland |
Online publication date: 2013-12-31
Publication date: 2013-12-31
Acta Palaeobotanica 2013; 53(2): 141–163
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The Lower Jurassic plant macrofossils of Poland are poorly known. Relatively rich sources of fossils
are found in only a few outcrops in the Holy Cross Mountains. Other described plant remains come from drill cores
taken from most areas of Poland, but as a rule these are single specimens. The only professional descriptions of
Lower Jurassic macroflora are papers by Raciborski, Makarewiczówna, and a team of researchers consisting of
Reymanówna, Barbacka, Ziaja, and Wcisło-Luraniec. Raciborski’s fossil collection is still available for research and
revision. Such work is in progress. The collection described by Makarewiczówna contained many interesting specimens
but unfortunately the majority of them are now missing. Stratigraphic research by geologists has provided
some new specimens from drill cores and outcrops in the Holy Cross Mountains but these have not been subjected
to detailed palaeobotanical analysis. The palynology of the Lower Jurassic was focused on biostratigraphy from
the outset of that research. As an outcome it provided spore-pollen and megaspore zonations for Lower Jurassic
strata in Poland. The Polish Lower Jurassic flora is comprised of ferns (very numerous), lycopsids, sphenopsids,
cycadaleans, bennettitaleans, gnetaleans, ginkgoaleans, and conifers. This flora is taxonomically poorer than the
equally old and geographically close floras of Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. Macrofloristic data have been used
by geologists as an important source of information for assessing the age of Lower Jurassic formations, particularly
in the Holy Cross Mountains. Hence the need for the old collections to be taxonomically revised and for new
material from outcrops and drill cores to be examined and described.
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