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Weichselia is an extinct genus of fern. They were abundant from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. While generally supposed to have affinities to Matoniaceae, some research has suggested that they have closer affinites to the Marattiales, though its morphology is strongly divergent from both of these groups. They are thought to have grown similar to modern tree ferns, with an upright stem topped with a crown of fronds. The genus filled multiple ecological niches, such as being the primary mangrove tree for millions of years.
Weichselia has been interpreted as being xeromorphic, and has been suggested that they grew in savannah and/or coastal environments. It has also been proposed that they were primary colonisers following the destruction of pre-existing vegetation, particularly after wildfires. Others have indicated that the growth strategies of Weichselia are more consistent with fire tolerance, with the plant re-sprouting from buds in their trunks after a fire. Weichselia seems to have encountered wildfires on a regular basis, as charred pieces of the plant were the most frequently sampled remains in a study of 3338 Weichselia fragments from 25 different Early Cretaceous fossil sites.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Weichselia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
