Oricilla was a genus of Early Devonian land plant with branching axes. Fossils have been found from the Pragian to the Emsian (million years ago).

A cladogram published in 2004 by Crane et al. places Oricilla in the core of a paraphyletic stem group of broadly defined "zosterophylls", basal to the lycopsids (living and extinct clubmosses and relatives).

lycophytes† Hicklingia †basal groups Adoketophyton, Discalis, Distichophytum (=Rebuchia), Gumuia, Huia, Zosterophyllum myretonianum, Z. llanoveranum, Z. fertile †'core' zosterophylls Zosterophyllum divaricatum, Tarella, Oricilla, Gosslingia, Hsua, Thrinkophyton, Protobarinophyton, Barinophyton obscurum, B. citrulliforme, Sawdonia, Deheubarthia, Konioria, Anisophyton, Serrulacaulis, Crenaticaulis †basal groups Nothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum lycopsids extant and extinct members
† Hicklingia
†basal groups Adoketophyton, Discalis, Distichophytum (=Rebuchia), Gumuia, Huia, Zosterophyllum myretonianum, Z. llanoveranum, Z. fertile †'core' zosterophylls Zosterophyllum divaricatum, Tarella, Oricilla, Gosslingia, Hsua, Thrinkophyton, Protobarinophyton, Barinophyton obscurum, B. citrulliforme, Sawdonia, Deheubarthia, Konioria, Anisophyton, Serrulacaulis, Crenaticaulis †basal groups Nothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum lycopsids extant and extinct members
†basal groupsAdoketophyton, Discalis, Distichophytum (=Rebuchia), Gumuia, Huia, Zosterophyllum myretonianum, Z. llanoveranum, Z. fertile
†'core' zosterophyllsZosterophyllum divaricatum, Tarella, Oricilla, Gosslingia, Hsua, Thrinkophyton, Protobarinophyton, Barinophyton obscurum, B. citrulliforme, Sawdonia, Deheubarthia, Konioria, Anisophyton, Serrulacaulis, Crenaticaulis
†basal groups Nothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum lycopsids extant and extinct members
†basal groupsNothia, Zosterophyllum deciduum
lycopsidsextant and extinct members

Hao and Xue in 2013 used the absence of terminal sporangia to place the genus in the paraphyletic order Gosslingiales, a group of zosterophylls considered to have indeterminate growth, with fertile branches generally showing circinate vernation (initially curled up). Kenrick and Crane in 1997 also placed the genus in the family Gosslingiaceae, but they place this family in the order Sawdoniales.

Bibliography

  • Hao, Shougang & Xue, Jinzhuang (2013). . Beijing: Science Press. ISBN 978-7-03-036616-0.

External links

  • from Crane, Herendeen & Friis 2004