Abstract: The fossil plants described and illustrated were collected from the Yangshan Formation in Shangcheng and Gushi districts of southeastern part of Henan Province, namely, Lepidodendron cf. aolungpylukense Sze, L. shanyangense Wu et He, L. . cf. subrhombicum Gu et Zhi, L. sp. a, L. sp. b, Bothrodendron sp. a, B. sp. b, Lepidostrobus ? sp., Stigmaria ficoides (Sternberg) Brongniart, Archaeocalamites scrobiculatus (Schlotheim) Seward, Cardiopteridium spetsbergense Nathorst, Triph yllopteris ? sp., Rhodeopteridium hsianghsiangense (Sze) Zhang, Zhao et Wu, Paripteris cf. pseudogigantea (Potonie) Gothan, P. ? sp., Cordaites schenkii Halle, Cardiocarpus cordai (Geinitz) Gu et Zhi and Carpolithus sp., including 18 species in 11 genera. They belonged to Lycopsida, Sphenopsida, Filices, Pteridospermopsida, Cordaitopsida and Semina Gymnospermarum respectively , in which Lepidophytic plants of Lycopsida were the dominanance. The Yangshan Formation flora contains some typical Early Carboniferous elements, such as Archaeocalamites scrobiculatus, Cardiopteridium spetsbergense and Rhodeopteridium hsianghsiangense, which were fairly common from Visean to early Namurian; however, it also includes certain lepidophytic plants of the Cathaysian type, such as Lepidodendron cf. aolungpylukense, L. shanyangense and L. cf. subrhombicum, etc. On the basis of the floral composition, the geological age of the Yangshan Formation flora belonged to the late Early Carboniferous epoch, corresponding approximately to late Visean to early Namurian A. The present flora could be compared with contemporaneous floras from eastern Gansu, Shanyang of Shaanxi, South China and western Malaysia, which was closest to the Shanyang flora. In addition, the authors also discussed the distribution of late Early Carboniferous floras in other parts of the world.

Key words: Early Carboniferous, Yangshan Formation, Flora