Fossil plants as indicators of late Palaeozoic plate positions

Fossil plant records from a late Carboniferous to early Permian time interval are reviewed for the data that they give on connections and migration routes between floristic provinces, and their palaeolatitudinal positions. Caution is urged in using fragmentary leaf remains as a basis for recognizing affinity between floristic provinces, as illustrated by reference to the genera Phyllotheca and Glossopteris . The distribution of some 38 plant genera from a range of late Palaeozoic areas and localities is made the basis for ordinating them in the form of a dendrogram. An early Permian plate reassembly, based on that of Lin et al. 1985, is assessed in terms of its compatibility with the palaeobotanical evidence.