A brief introduction to the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Flora from Inner Mongolia, China

The Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota is named for a fossil assemblage after a village in Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. Over the last twenty-five years, abundant, exceptionally well-preserved fossils have been reported from various localities in the Daohugou area. While the fauna of the Daohugou Biota has been well-studied, little research has been done on the flora. In this paper, we establish the Daohugou Flora for the first time and document its high diversity of plants which are mainly composed of Filicopsida, Cycadopsida, Ginkgopsida, Czekanowskiales and Coniferopsida. We recognize 49 species belonging to 32 genera, including a new species Sphenobaiera eximia sp. nov. Na, Sun et Wang. An emended diagnosis of Anomozamites villosus Pott, McLoughlin, Wu et Friis is presented. The floristic composition indicates that the Daohugou Flora belongs to the North Floristic Province and it reflects a warm-temperate and humid climate with seasonal temperature and precipitation variations. This report, representing the first systematic treatment of fossil plants from the Daohugou area, is of great significance for understanding the Daohugou Biota. It also provides important information for reconstructing the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment in this area, and lays a solid foundation for studying co-evolution of plants and animals of the Daohugou Biota.