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FIFTY YEARS OF PALEOBOTANY 



1906-1956 



Theodor Just ^ 



Although fossil plants have been known and recognized as such since the days 

 of antiquity, their scientiiic study began less than 150 years ago. This com- 

 paratively short span of time can be divided into three roughly equal periods. 

 The first of these was the formative period during which the classic works of 

 Sternberg, Schlotheim, Brongniart, Witham, Corda, linger, and others ap- 

 peared. The second period may be called the period of exploration — at least 

 as far as the United States is concerned — during which Dawson, Lesquereux, 

 Newberry, Macbride, and Ward did their pioneer work. The third period 

 coincides approximately with the life of the Botanical Society of America. 

 The outstanding events in paleobotany in 1906 were the publication of the 

 first volume of American Fossil Cycads by Wieland and the establishment 

 by the Federal Government of the Petrified Forest National Monument in 

 Arizona. A few years before, at the turn of the century, the seed ferns were 

 recognized as such and described in great detail. Since then paleobotanical 

 research has greatly expanded in scope and now encompasses the whole 

 world, ranging from studies on permafrost in arctic North America to the 

 petrified forests of Patagonia, and from the coal fields of Korea to the Karroo 

 beds of South Africa, over the whole plant kingdom and all fossiliferous hori- 

 zons of the geological column. New or improved techniques (providing 50-100 

 serial sections in place of a single thin section and enabling us to see the 

 other side of the fence) and new or revitalized interest in paleobotany in many 

 countries outside of Europe have greatly aided this progress and expansion. 



^ The author is greatly indebted to the late Dr. J. H. Hoskins, University of 

 Cincinnati, Dr. W. Spackman, Jr., Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. A. Tra- 

 verse, Shell Development Company, Houston, Texas, for reading the manuscript 

 and offering helpful criticisms. 



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