Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Plants, Bryophytes
Non vascular plants, Vascular Plants, The "…
-
-
Vascular Plants
Lycophites ~420 MYA
-
Early vascular plant ancestors, possibly related to extinct plants like Rhyniophytes. These were simple vascular plants with dichotomous branching but without leaves or true roots.
-
Selaginellaceae (spike mosses, still present today)
Selaginella tortipila at Heggie's 
Isoetaceae (quillworts, still present today)
Isoetes tegetiformans (Merlin's Grass) at Heggie's
-
-
The "Missing Link" Problem: The transition from non-vascular to vascular plants occurred very early in plant evolution, around 450–420 million years ago. Many of the fossils from this period are not well-preserved, and key evolutionary transitions (like the development of vascular tissue) are difficult to observe directly in the fossil record.
Independent Lineage Hypothesis: Some scientists believe that bryophytes and vascular plants share a common ancestor, but that bryophytes did not directly give rise to vascular plants. Instead, both groups evolved from a more ancient land plant ancestor.
Liverwort-like Ancestors: Some research suggests that liverwort-like plants might be the closest living relatives of the early ancestors of vascular plants, given their ancient origin and simple body plan. However, this remains speculative.
Note that liverworts are though to be the oldest non vascular plants but that lycophytes (the oldest vascular plants) likely appeared before hornworts and mosses.
-