Glossopteris (etymology: from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα, glôssa 'tongue' + πτερίς, pterís 'fern') is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed plants known as Glossopteridales (also known as Arberiales, Ottokariales, or Dictyopteridiales). The name Glossopteris refers only to leaves, within the framework of form genera used in paleobotany, used for leaves of plants belonging to the glossopterid family Dictyopteridiaceae.
Species of Glossopteris were the dominant trees of the middle to high-latitude lowland vegetation, often in swampy environments, across Gondwana (which at this time formed the southern part of Pangaea) during the Permian Period. Glossopteris fossils were critical in recognizing former connections between the various fragments of Gondwana: South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
The Glossopteris forest ecosystems became extinct as part of the end-Permian mass extinction event approximately 252 million years ago, which was caused by an abrupt rise in temperatures produced by the eruption of Siberian Traps.
