274 Section Q – Spore-bearing vascular plants
Table 1. Approximate time scale of first appearance of major vascular plant groups in the fossil record
Period Millions Spore-bearing plants Ferns Seed plants
of years other than ferns
ago (start)
Present day 1
Tertiary 65
Cretaceous 145 Leptosporangiate Gnetopsida; dicotyledons,
ferns monocotyledons
Jurassic 205 Earliest flowering plants?
Triassic 250 Caytonialesa, Bennettitalesa
Permian 290 Ginkgoales
Carboniferous 360 Tree and heterosporous Heterosporous ferns Cycads
Lycopsida; tree Conifers
Equisetopsida Cordaitalesa(perhaps earlier)
Devonian 410 Homosporous Pteridospermsa
Lycopsida and
Equisetopsida; Eusporangiate ferns
progymnospermsa (including tree ferns)
other Rhyniopsidaa, etc.
Silurian 440 Cooksoniaa(end Silurian);
earliest vascular plants?
Ordovician 500
Cambrian 570
aExtinct groups.
5 mmSporangiaFig. 1. The earliest known fossil vascular plant,Cooksonia.