| Summary: | International audience Roots of Vertebraria from the Permian of Skaar Ridge, Antarctica are widely believed to belong to the Glossopteris plant. Delayed infrafascicular wood development results in deeply lobed wood cylinder geometries and formation of voids before forming an entire wood cylinder. We explored the functional significance of these traits by measuring the dimensions and geometries of the wood configurations and their potential importance for root mechanics and anchorage.We suggest that functional traits of Vertebraria indicate a tendency toward maximizing anchorage ability in a heterogeneous, weak soil where the number of fine to medium roots and their length were probably more important for anchorage than fewer stronger roots. The production of architecturally light roots in terms of biomass was also of an advantage for rapid and efficient establishment during short growth seasons of the high latitude location. Furthermore, the cross- to star-shaped configurations possibly represents a “smart” anchorage system for optimizing contact points within a highly heterogeneous peat swamp matrix.
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