Ludlow Epoch

Evidence of earliest leaves

The Ludlow Epoch (427–423 Ma) is the late Middle Silurian, before the Pridoli, and after the Wenlock Epoch

There is a marked increase in the complexity of plant structures by the late Silurian (Ludlow)
Record of tracheids, and therefore evidence of vascular plants, in the fossil record (Edwards & Davies, 1976)
- C-type tracheids were also discovered earlier in the Wenlock within C. pertonii
Cooksonia cambrensis and C. pertonii are found during this time from fossils in Tipperary, Ireland (Edwards et al., 1979; Edwards & Richardson, 2004)
Steganotheca striata, from Powys, Wales (Edwards & Rogerson, 1979)
Baragwanathia longifolia, Salopella australis, Hedeia sp. have been reported from Victoria, Australia (Tims and Chambers, 1984)
- Baragwanathia represents the earliest known land plant leaves (microphylls)
Bathurstia, Distichophytum, Hostinella, Macivera gracilis, and Zosterophyllum (Kotyk et al., 2002)