Earth's oldest known tree stood nearly 30 feet (9 meter) tall and looked like a modern palm, a new reconstruction shows.The tree belonged to a group of early fern-like plants called Wattieza. Unlike flowering plants, which use seeds to reproduce, Wattieza used spores, the reproductive method of choice for algae, ferns and fungi.
Now extinct, Wattieza lived during the Middle Devonian period, before aquatic creatures clambered onto land. “The trees preceded dinosaurs by 140 million years,” said study team member Ed Landing of the New York State Museum. “There was nothing flying, no reptiles and no amphibians.”
The rise of land plants such as Wattieza drastically altered the climate and paved the way for terrestrial animals and insects.
Link & Image: MSNBC
Tags: Tree | Wattieza
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