Lepidodendron

Rare card · No. 74622

Lepidodendron, from Ancient Greek λεπίς (lepís), meaning "scale", and δένδρον (déndron), meaning "tree", is an extinct genus of primitive lycopodian vascular plants belonging to the order Lepidodendrales (also called "arborescent lycophytes"). Like other Lepidodendrales, species of Lepidodendron grew as large-tree-like plants in wetland coal forest environments. They sometimes reached heights of 50 metres (160 feet), and the trunks were often over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter. They are often known as "scale trees", due to their bark having been covered in diamond-shaped leaf-bases, from which the needle-like leaves grew during earlier stages of growth. They thrived during the Carboniferous Period (358.9 to 298.9 million years ago), and persisted until the end of the Permian around 252 million years ago (though Permian remains may be better assigned to other lepiodendralean genera). Sometimes erroneously called "giant club mosses", Lepidodendron was actually more closely related to modern...

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