Editing Lepidodendron (section)

==Growth and reproduction==
[[File:Lepidodendron joven reconstrucción.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Reconstruction of a juvenile ''Lepidodendron'', showing the unbranched trunk with leaves]]
During the early stages of growth, ''Lepidodendron'' grew as single, unbranched trunk, with leaves growing out of the scale leaf bases (cushions). Towards the end of the lycopod growth, the leaves on the lower part of the trunk were shed, and in ''Lepidodendron'', the upper part of the trunk [[Glossary of botanical terms#dichotomous|dichotomously]] branched into a [[Crown (botany)|crown]].<ref name=":02" /> The rate of growth of arborescent lycophytes is disputed, some authors contended that they had a rapid life cycle, growing to their maximum size and dying in only 10 to 15 years, while other authors argue that these growth rates were overestimated.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Barry A. |last2=Cleal |first2=Christopher J. |date=May 2018 |title=Arborescent lycophyte growth in the late Carboniferous coal swamps |journal=New Phytologist |language=en |volume=218 |issue=3 |pages=885–890 |doi=10.1111/nph.14903 |pmid=29282734|doi-access=free }}</ref> Rather than reproduce with seeds, ''Lepidodendron'' lycopsids reproduced with spores. The spores were stored in [[sporangia]] situated on fertile stems that grew on or near the main trunk. The fertile stems grew together in cone-like structures that clustered at the tips of branches.<ref>{{cite book |title= Geology of Michigan |author= John Adam Dorr, Donald F. Eschman |edition= illustrated |publisher= University of Michigan Press |year= 1970 |isbn= 9780472082803 |page= 429}}</ref>