Genome

Spore

Ecology

Bryophyte

Holocene

Genus

Gene

Devonian

Geology

Gondwana

Biology

Structural basin

Vascular plant

Species richness

Ordovician

Paleontology

Sporangium

Plant evolution

Macrofossil

Biochemistry

New Phytologist

The colonization of early terrestrial ecosystems by embryophytes (i.e. land plants) irreversibly changed global biogeochemical cycles (Berner & Kothavala, 2001; Berner et al., 2007; Song et al., 2012). However, when and how the process of plant terrestrialization took place is still intensely debated (Kenrick & Crane, 1997; Kenrick et al., 2012; Edwards et al., 2014; Edwards & Kenrick, 2015). Current knowledge suggests that the earliest land plants evolved from charophycean green algae (Karol et al., 2001) most probably during Early-Middle Ordovician times (Rubinstein et al., 2010; and references cited therein). They were represented by small nonvascular bryophyte-like organisms (Edwards & Wellman, 2001; Wellman et al., 2003; Kenrick et al., 2012). The oldest fossil evidence from dispersed spores of presumable bryophytic nature is known from a Middle Ordovician locality (c. 470 million years ago (Ma), Rubinstein et al., 2010; Fig. 1) from Argentina (Gondwana palaeocontinent). The dispersed spore fossil record...

Putative Late Ordovician land plants