European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference 2026

Noeggerathiales are an extinct group of plants that existed during the Late Palaeozoic, with approximately 20 genera and 97 species reported to date. Although their first description dates back more than 200 years, the research on the phylogenetic relationships among the various genera within this order remains limited, and Noeggerathiales have only recently been assigned to the progymnosperms based on the reconstructed whole-plant Paratingia wuhaia. Owing to preservation biases and the uniqueness of their morphological characters, it remains unclear whether all reported genera and species represent a single natural taxonomic group. In the present review, the temporal and geographical distribution of the fossil record of Noeggerathiales is summarized, and a phylogenetic analysis is conducted based on currently available fossil data. With respect to the chronostratigraphic distribution of foliage organs, Noeggerathiales may have first appeared in the Euramerican floral realm, later gradually extended to other regions of that realm, subsequently migrated to the Cathaysian floral realm, and flourished there until the end of the Permian. Phylogenetic analysis supports a close relationship of all known noeggerathialeans to progymnosperms, although they are mainly known from partial organs rather than whole-plant reconstructions.