Calamites

Calamites
Temporal range:
A range of Calamites specimens, illustrating the different appearance of fossils preserved under different taphonomic modes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Subclass: Equisetidae
Order: Equisetales
Family: †Calamitaceae
Genus: †Calamites
Species

Calamites carinatus
Calamites cistii
Calamites cruciatus
Calamites goeppertii
Calamites multiramis
Calamites ramosus
Calamites rectangulus
Calamites sachsei
Calamites schuetzeiformis
Calamites schulzii
Calamites sickowii
Calamites suckowi
Calamites undulatus

Calamites is a genus of extinct arborescent (tree-like) horsetails to which the modern horsetails (genus Equisetum) are closely related. Unlike their herbaceous modern cousins, these plants were medium-sized trees, growing to heights of 30–50 meters (98–164 ft). They were components of the understories of coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period (around 360 to 300 million years ago).

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