Paleofloristics

a branch of paleobotany. Paleofloristics includes the study of the flora of a particular region during a definite time period in the past. It is also concerned with identifying similarities and differences among contemporaneous floras, tracing floristic changes over time, and examining paleo-phytogeographic regionalization. The study of the distribution of fossil plants in the earth’s crust yields reliable data for stratigraphy (analysis, correlation, and dating of deposits) and for paleogeographic reconstruction.