They afford the first positive proof as yet obtained of the co-existence of a varied fauna of the highest class of vertebrata with that ample development of reptile life which marks all the periods from the Trias to the Lower Cretaceous inclusive, and with a gymnospermous flora, or that state of the vegetable kingdom when cycads and conifers predominated over all kinds of plants, except the ferns, so far, at least, as our present imperfect knowledge of fossil botany entitles us to speak.
"The Student's Elements of Geology"
Sir Charles Lyell
It is thus indicated that the Angiosperms sprang from a gymnospermous source, and that the two great phyla of Seed-plants have not been distinct from the first, though no doubt the great majority of known Gymnosperms, especially the Coniferae, represent branch-lines of their own.
"Darwin and Modern Science"
A.C. Seward and Others
It remained uncertain, however, from which line of Cryptogams the gymnospermous Seed-plants had sprung.
"Darwin and Modern Science"
A.C. Seward and Others