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The Early Evolution of Land Plants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2017

A. H. Knoll ,
S. W. F. Grant  and
J. W. Tsao
A. H. Knoll
Affiliation:
Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
S. W. F. Grant
Affiliation:
Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
J. W. Tsao
Affiliation:
Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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Extract

Vascular plants are the most conspicuous organisms on Earth, accounting for some 97 % of our planet's standing biomass. The nearly 300,000 extant vascular plant species exhibit tremendous morphological and ecological diversity. Along with the 20,000 or more species of bryophytes, algae, lichens, and cyanobacteria that also live on land, they fuel a complex terrestrial ecosystem containing animals, fungi, protozoans, and bacteria. The richness of terrestrial life has evolved during the last 10 % of Earth history; there is no evidence for non-microbial land plants or animals in rocks older than the mid-Ordovician.

Type
Research Article
Information
Series in Geology, Notes for Short Course , Volume 15: Land Plants , 1986 , pp. 45 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 University of Tennessee, Knoxville 

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