Czekanowskiales
[1] The main ovulate structure of Czekanowskiales, Leptostrobus, consists of bivalved seed-bearing round capsule-like structures arranged along a long axis.[2] The fossil record of Czekanowskiales is largely confined to the Northern Hemisphere, and they inhabited warm-temperate and temperate climates under humid conditions.[3] The oldest possible records of the group are ovulate cones from the Late Permian of Italy,[1] but the group is primarily known from the Late Triassic onwards, and were abundant during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.Only a handful of species are known from the Late Cretaceous, confined to the northern Russian Far East, corresponding to the decline of other seed plant groups during the explosive radiation of flowering plants.A close relationship to the Ginkgoales has been proposed, based on similar preserved molecular signatures of fossil cuticles,[5] with some authors placing Ginkgoales and Czekanowskiales into the broader grouping Ginkgophyta.