A dataset of Paleozoic vascular plants from the South China Block

The dataset consists of three parts: (1) macro- and microfossil (i.e., spores and pollen) record of the Paleozoic vascular plants from South China: a list of taxonomic names (including species with open nomenclature such as sp., aff., cf., etc.), fossil localities, stratigraphy, classification, and a list of endemic genera; (2) morphological traits of vascular plants from the Silurian to Devonian of South China: measured values of key morphological traits (including stem diameter, and measurements of sporangia and leaves) and a data matrix comprising 36 binary characters across 66 plants; (3) leaf morphological characters of vascular plants from South China: a data matrix composed of 95 single leaves and 96 binary characters, and a second matrix composed of 218 compound leaves and 103 binary characters.