An Introduction to Paleobotany

The preparation of this book was motivated by a longfelt need for a concise yet fairly comprehensive textbook of paleobotany for use in American colleges and universities. Although separate courses in paleobotany are not offered in many institutions, fossil plants are frequently treated in regular courses in botany and paleontology. In these courses both student and instructor are often compelled to resort to widely scattered publications, which are not always conveniently available. Lack of ready access to sources of information has retarded instruction in paleobotany and has lessened the number of students specializing in this field. Another effect no less serious has been the frequent lack of appreciation by botanists and paleontologists of the importance of fossil plants in biological and geological science. The arrangement and scope of the subject matter is in part the result of 17 years of experience in teaching a small course in paleobotany open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom were majors or minors in botany or biology. The approach to the subject is therefore essentially botanical. Paleobotany as a subdivision of paleontology can be treated either biologically or geologically, but the two approaches are so different that to try to combine them would result only in confusion and lack of clarity. The present arrangement, therefore, is followed partly because of the necessity of making a choice, but mostly because of the author’s conviction that it is best for instructional purposes.