Cretaceous Plants
The Cretaceous period that came after the Jurassic period showed some very extraordinary features brings a revolution. It happened between the end of the Mesozoic era and starting up of the Cenozoic era. |
This period saw the appearance of flowering of many plants and vegetations such as ferns, horsetails, cycads and conifers. The flourishing of cycadales took place in the lower Cretaceous.
However, the proclamation of the advent of revolution was marked by the beginning of primitive and archaic type of Dicotyledons plants. At this time, the flowering of cycads declined and that of Dicotyledons improved. Kootanie of the Northwest and Wealden of northern Europe did not see flowering of Dicotyledons while they were abundant in Lower Cretaceous of Portugal, Greenland and Spitzbergen.
The leaves of the plants that made its appearance in Cretaceous were found to be somehow similar to trees in the contemporary forests. It includes Sassafras, Populus, Liriodendron and others. Finally it was presumed with new character in the latter part of the lower and in upper Cretaceous of North America and the ordinary trees in the forest were embodied as Sassafras, Poplars, Willows, Oaks, Maples, Elms, Beeches, Chestnut and such others. Not only Dicotyledons, but monocotyledonous such as palm also got an immediate significance.
After having an overall view, it can be said that the Cretaceous period was the era of flowering of many plants with some unique features. The plants in Upper Cretaceous were considered to be modern, while very few parts of the Lower Cretaceous such as North America, and other few dotted places were rich in it. Fauna in the period were also remarkable, but not as the flora.
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