that have been subjected to post mortem degradation primarily
through hydrolysis and oxidation. In plants, these DNA
molecules can be found in tissues of extant organisms, such as
wood or sclerenchymatic tissue of fruits or seeds, in herbarium
specimens, in various types of fossilized plant remains, in feces
as secondary components or even adsorbed to sediments after
leakage from their original cellular source.
In principle, insights into the evolutionary history of plant
populations can be obtained by (1) relying on direct evidence
from the fossil record, (2) studying the current genetic structure
of living organisms, (3) genetically analysing germinated seeds
or spores buried in the soil, or (4) directly identifying species
and genotypes through the analysis of aDNA (palaeogenetics).
Plant palaeontological research is often limited by taxonomic
resolution because fossil remains, such as wood or pollen, can