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Fragments of the earliest land plants

Author

Listed:
  • Charles H. Wellman

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Peter L. Osterloff

    (Petroleum Development Oman
    Sarawak Shell Berhad)

  • Uzma Mohiuddin

    (Petroleum Development Oman)

Abstract

The earliest fossil evidence for land plants comes from microscopic dispersed spores1,2,3. These microfossils are abundant and widely distributed in sediments, and the earliest generally accepted reports are from rocks of mid-Ordovician age (Llanvirn, 475 million years ago)4. Although distribution, morphology and ultrastructure of the spores indicate that they are derived from terrestrial plants, possibly early relatives of the bryophytes, this interpretation remains controversial5 as there is little in the way of direct evidence for the parent plants. An additional complicating factor is that there is a significant hiatus between the appearance of the first dispersed spores and fossils of relatively complete land plants (megafossils)6: spores predate the earliest megafossils (Late Silurian, 425 million year ago) by some 50 million years7. Here we report the description of spore-containing plant fragments from Ordovician rocks of Oman. These fossils provide direct evidence for the nature of the spore-producing plants. They confirm that the earliest spores developed in large numbers within sporangia, providing strong evidence that they are the fossilized remains of bona fide land plants. Furthermore, analysis of spore wall ultrastructure supports liverwort affinities.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles H. Wellman & Peter L. Osterloff & Uzma Mohiuddin, 2003. "Fragments of the earliest land plants," Nature, Nature, vol. 425(6955), pages 282-285, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:425:y:2003:i:6955:d:10.1038_nature01884
    DOI: 10.1038/nature01884
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    Cited by:

    1. Huyue Song & Zhihui An & Qin Ye & Eva E. Stüeken & Jing Li & Jun Hu & Thomas J. Algeo & Li Tian & Daoliang Chu & Haijun Song & Shuhai Xiao & Jinnan Tong, 2023. "Mid-latitudinal habitable environment for marine eukaryotes during the waning stage of the Marinoan snowball glaciation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Russell Chapman, 2013. "Algae: the world’s most important “plants”—an introduction," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 5-12, January.
    3. Qiao Wen Tan & Peng Ken Lim & Zhong Chen & Asher Pasha & Nicholas Provart & Marius Arend & Zoran Nikoloski & Marek Mutwil, 2023. "Cross-stress gene expression atlas of Marchantia polymorpha reveals the hierarchy and regulatory principles of abiotic stress responses," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, December.

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