Evolution, Environment, Climate: Insights from Extinct and Living Plants

Plants are unique among multicellular organisms because much of their physiology is biophysical, rather than behavioral, and the anatomy that defines these biophysical capabilities is preserved in the fossil record. Cutting-edge techniques, when applied to fossilized plant leaves and stems, can illuminate the evolution and ecology of plants that have been extinct for hundreds of millions of years—and shed light on the environments they inhabited. In this presentation, I will describe the techniques we use to understand extinct plants, what scientists have learned about these unusual forests, and what these insights tell us about past and future environments.

Jonathan Wilson’s Biography

Photo Caption: A cross-section of a 300-million-year-old fossilized tree fern (Psaronius), which grew in the peat swamps of present-day Illinois

Parking for this event is in the Visitor’s Lot and the talk will take place in Lutnick Library room 200. Please follow all CDC guidelines will on campus.