Fig. 5
From: Macrofossil evidence unveiling evolution of male cones in Ephedraceae (Gnetidae)
Illustrations displaying evolution of the modern compact cones from ancestral male shoots through transitional lax male spikes. a, the hypothetical ancestral male shoot; b, the transitional lax male spikes of Eamesia chinensis; c, the modern compact male cone of modern Ephedraceae. Abbreviations: ax, axis of reproductive shoots/male cones; b, bracts/foliar organs on primary axis of male cones/spikes; br, bracteoles on the secondary axis of male cones/spikes; m, microsporophylls; s, synangium