title: Specialised emission pattern of leaf trace in a late Permian (253 million-years old) conifer.
abstract: Leaf traces are important structures in higher plants that connect leaves and the stem vascular system. The anatomy and emission pattern of leaf traces are well studied in extant vascular plants, but remain poorly understood in fossil lineages. We quantitatively analysed the leaf traces in the late Permian conifer Ningxiaites specialis from Northwest China based on serial sections through pith, primary and secondary xylems. A complete leaf traces emission pattern of a conifer is presented for the first time from the late Palaeozoic. Three to five monarch leaf traces are grouped in clusters, arranged in a helical phyllotaxis. The leaf traces in each cluster can be divided into upper, middle and lower portions, and initiate at the pith periphery and cross the wood horizontally. The upper leaf trace increases its diameter during the first growth increment and then diminishes completely, which indicates leaf abscission at the end of the first year. The middle trace immediately bifurcates once or twice to form two or three vascular bundles. The lower trace persists as a single bundle during its entire length. The intricate leaf trace dynamics indicates this fossil plant had a novel evolutionary habit by promoting photosynthetic capability for the matured plant.
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: 1] Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Yuan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Xuan
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Jia
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: He