Detailed seed cone morpho-anatomy of the Prumnopityoid clade: an insight into the origin and evolution of Podocarpaceae seed cones.

This study highlights that the Prumnopityoid clade has an amazing diversity of structures and complex evolutionary patterns. Fleshiness is an ancestral trait of the clade and has been achieved via diverse evolutionary pathways and structures. This clade has four distinct seed cone types, i.e. drupe-like, receptaculate, arilloid and dacrydioid cones, based on morpho-anatomical structures and traits. The macrofossil record also demonstrates the presence of several structures and traits.