Cordaitales are an extinct order of gymnosperms, known from the early

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

to the late

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. Many Cordaitales had elongated strap-like leaves, resembling some modern-day conifers of the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae. They had cone-like reproductive structures reminiscent of those of modern conifers. Some Cordaitales formed large trees that seem to have been particularly abundant on drier ground, in tropical environments. Also, some tall trees but also shrubby and mangrove-like species of Cordaitales seem to have grown in the

coal swamps. Cordaitales were also abundant during the

. Common genera from the Carboniferous include '' Mesoxylon'' and '' Cordaixylon''. Other genera are '' Noeggerathiopsis'' and '' Sumaropsis''. Cordaites fossil cropped

Features of the female cone ( megastrobilus) of the members of Cordaitales indicate that the cone scales, possessed by themselves and their descendants, may correspond to short shoots, rather than leaves. This is because the cone consists of these short shoots, emerging from bracts. Among conifers, a leaf of any kind does not emerge from the axil of a bract.

References

Prehistoric plant orders Monotypic gymnosperm orders {{permian-plant-stub