Question

1. When do we think that land plant appeared (evolved from the ocean onto land)?
2. What is considered to be the ancestor of land plants?
3. Name two plants living today (extant) that look a lot like plants did millions of years ago?
4. List several ways land plants are different from plants found in the ocean. (What was needed for plant to survive (evolve) on land?)
5. Do all land plants go through “Alternation of Generations?

Answer 1

1. When do we think that land plant appeared (evolved from the ocean onto land)?

land plants appeared 525-425 million years ago

2. What is considered to be the ancestor of land plants?

Ancestor of plants is considered to be Green algae, or seaweed, which existed 1.2 bya (billion years ago).

3. Name two plants living today (extant) that look a lot like plants did millions of years ago?

Chara which is a green algae and Horsetail (Equisetum) which is a Pterophyta

4. List several ways land plants are different from plants found in the ocean.

Land plants have transport vessels for water called xylem to transport water up against gravity

They also have chitin cuticle to on stem and leaves to make them stronger and stay up right

Gametes are protected in seeds and they rely on many methods of pollination wind water animals and birds etc, while aquatic plants only rely on their aquatic environment.

Land plants have special pores in their leaves called stomata for gas exchange

5. Yes all plants go through alternation of generation. some of them have longer haploid gametophyte period and shorter diploid sporophyte phase other plants have shorter gametophyte and longer sporophyte