Paurodendron stellatum: A new Permian permineralized herbaceous lycopsid from the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica

- A new permineralized lycopsid is reported from the Middle Permian of Antarctica.
- The plant is associated with dispersed megaspores and charcoalified microphylls.
- This small plant was a subsidiary element in the understorey of glossopterid forests.
- Plant habit, stele anatomy and ligulate microphylls conform to Paurodendron.

Diminutive, silica-permineralized lycopsid axes, from a Guadalupian (Middle Permian) silicified peat in the Bainmedart Coal Measures of East Antarctica are described and assigned to Paurodendron stellatum sp. nov. Axes consist only of primary-growth tissues with a vascular system characterized by an exarch actinostele with 6-20 protoxylem points. Stems have a relatively narrow cortex of thin-walled cells that are commonly degraded, but the root cortex typically contains more robust, thick-walled cells. The stems bear helically inserted, elliptical-rhombic, ligulate microphylls. Roots possess an eccentrically positioned monarch vascular strand. Paurodendron stellatum is one of a very small number of anatomically preserved lycopsid axes described from the Gondwanan Permian and represents the first post-Carboniferous record of this genus. Based on dispersed vegetative remains, megaspores and microspores, herbaceous lycopsids, such as P. stellatum, appear to have been important understorey components of both low- and high-latitude mire forests of the late Palaeozoic.

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