The Permian flora of Lodève (France) Together with my wife I have visited the old quarry Les Tuilières near Lodève in the South of France about seven times to collect Permian plant fossils. Thus I have built up a nice collection little by little . Les Tuilières is worldfamous in paleobotanic circles because of the beautiful specimens which were found during the 18th and the first half of the 19th century. After the exploitation had been stopped, the yield of fossils has been diminishing fast. Although fossils are rather scarce now and the pieces small, it is still possible to get a picture of the flora living there about 280 million years ago. Because of the fragmentary character of the fossils it is often not possible to find the complete name of the plant. In many cases one must be satisfied knowing the genus. Contents The quarry The geology of the Lodève Basin The conifers The seed ferns The horsetails The cordaites Ginkgo-like plants Seeds Changes on Earth during the Late Carboniferous and the Permian Changes in the flora during the Late Carboniferous and the Permian Two kinds of fossil floras Diagram Late Carboniferous/Permian The landscape during the Permian Literature Top