Abstract
The origin and early evolution of land plants in the mid-Palaeozoic era, between about 480 and 360 million years ago, was an important event in the history of life, with far-reaching consequences for the evolution of terrestrial organisms and global environments. A recent surge of interest, catalysed by palaeobotanical discoveries and advances in the systematics of living plants, provides a revised perspective on the evolution of early land plants and suggests new directions for future research.
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Acknowledgements
We thank W. G. Chaloner, D. Edwards, J. A. Raven, P. S. Herendeen, E. M. Friis, S. Bengtson and especially J. Gray for criticisms of earlier drafts of this manuscript; W. Burger, J. Cattel, A. N. Drinnan, M. Feist, L. E. Graham, H. Haas, H. Kerp, W. A. Taylor and P. Lidmark for assistance with illustrations. This work was supported in part by the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (NFR) and the National Science Foundation.
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Kenrick, P., Crane, P. The origin and early evolution of plants on land. Nature 389, 33–39 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/37918
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/37918
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