Sawdonia

Sawdoniales Temporal range: Upper Silurian–Lower Carboniferous PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Sawdonia ornata with ground creeping roots (A); lateral reniform sporangia (B)
Sawdonia ornata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Tracheophytes
Class:	†Zosterophyllopsida
Order:	†Sawdoniales
Families
†Sawdoniaceae †Barinophytaceae †Gosslingiaceae †Hsuaceae

The Sawdoniales were among the first vascular plants in the fossil record. They are zosterophylls, descending from the same ancestors that modern lycophytes evolved from. They bore lateral, reniform sporangia, branched dichotomously, and grew at the ends by unrolling (circinate vernation). Some had smooth stems, others were covered in small spines; fungal bodies have been reported in some spines.