The oldest plants on earth. The most ancient plants on Earth: the diversity of the flora of the past Which plants are considered the most ancient on earth

It's hard to believe, but plants can live for thousands of years. We present you a list oldest plants on earth.

Jōmon Sugi With a height of 25 meters and a girth of 16 meters, this Cryptomeria is the largest coniferous tree in Japan. The tree grows in a misty, primeval forest on the north side of the highest mountain on the island of Yakushima in Japan. Tree rings indicate that Cryptomeria is at least 2,000 years old, although some estimates suggest that it may have been growing for 7,000 years and is one of the oldest plants on planet earth.

The delightful 3,000-year-old moss-like bush of Llareta (La Llareta) is one of the oldest plants.

Methuselah (bristlecone pine) oldest of the world's stand-alone trees lives 10,000 feet above sea level in Inyo National Park, California. to the oldest The 4,765-year-old, primeval tree was already a hundred years old when the first pyramid was built in Egypt. The tree is hidden among other thousand-year-old pines in the Great Bristlecone Basin, in a grove called the Forest of the Ancients. To protect the tree from vandalism, the forest service keeps a secret exact location of the oldest tree.

Welwitschia amazing or Welwitschia special (Welwitschia mirabilis) is very old plant, currently growing only in a small area in the desert on the Atlantic coast, in Namibia and southern Angola. This is a tree, although at first glance it does not look like it at all. The whole plant consists of a round root-trunk and 2 constantly growing leaves that resemble 2 large twisted ribbons 2-4 meters long, so velvichia gives the impression of a heap of garbage. Strictly speaking, we are talking about germinating leaves, constantly continuing to grow, dying off and frayed at the ends. This specimen is over 5000 years old.

Bacteria actinomycetes (siberian actinobacteria), living in permafrost near Lake Baikal, possibly oldest organism on earth...Their age is about 400-600 thousand years.

Baobab (Sagole Baobab) in Limpopo province in South Africa. This tree is about 2000 years old.

The first representatives of the flora appeared on the planet more than 2 billion years ago, in an era that researchers call Archaea. Consider the most ancient plants on Earth - what they looked like and what role they played in the evolutionary process.

Archean era

This period is separated from us by billions of years, so the data on what living organisms existed at that time are very conditional and often have the character of hypotheses. Scientists have little material for research, since the representatives of this ancient time did not leave any traces behind them. In this geological era, there was no oxygen in the atmosphere, so only those organisms that did not need it could survive. Features of the plant world of the Archean era are as follows:

• The most ancient plants on Earth are considered to be blue-green algae, the fact that they already existed is evidenced by organic substances - marble, limestone.
• Later, colonial algae appeared.
• The next stage in the development of flora is the appearance of photosynthetic organisms. They took in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and gave off oxygen.

It can be concluded that algae are the most ancient plants of the Earth, their role was more than significant: it was these tiny representatives of the flora that managed to fill the atmosphere with oxygen necessary for life and made it possible for further evolution. Living organisms were able to leave the sea and move to land.

Proterozoic

The next stage in the development of the most ancient plants on Earth is the Proterozoic era, it was then that many varieties of algae originated:

• red;
• brown;
• green.

It was during this era that a clear division of organisms into plants and animals occurred. The former could synthesize oxygen, while the latter did not possess this ability.

Paleozoic

The most ancient plants on Earth are seaweeds, it is to them that we owe the appearance of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. They made our world habitable. In the first two periods of the Paleozoic, the flora was represented exclusively by algae, but other plants gradually appeared:

• During the Silurian period, spore plants were formed. Soil appeared, so they could grow on land.
• Rhinophytes, the simplest representatives of the fauna, arose in Delour.
• Then there are club mosses and great-ferns, gymnosperms.
• During the Carboniferous, horsetail-like, ferns are born.

The first forests of huge horsetails, ferns and club mosses appear on the planet. In the Carboniferous period, club mosses and calamites reach their peak, which often towered 30-40 meters above the ground. Gradually dying off, these plants formed reserves of coal, which mankind uses to this day. The most ancient plants on Earth played a crucial role, giving us a valuable mineral. Without coal, the development of industry would not have been possible.

In the Permian period, some coniferous species are formed.

Exit of plants to land: features of the process

The most ancient plants on Earth that left the water element and moved to land, as researchers believe, were algae and lichens. They did not leave any traces behind them, and conclusions about their existence are made only by indirect signs:

• The formation of rocks. This process is possible only with the participation of living organisms.
• The process of soil formation in water could not go on - this indicates that the plants have already climbed to the surface of the earth.
• Now fossil-like algae are found on land in the form of plaque on stones and tree bark, in conditions of increased importance. Therefore, the researchers suggest that in ancient periods they could also adapt to life outside the sea.

In the later periods of the Paleozoic, land plants appear that have not survived to this day. Only their petrified spores have survived. They are very similar to the spores of liverworts, modern plants related to mosses. It can be concluded that the most ancient plants on Earth are mosses, while horsetails "came" out of the sea and settled on land during the Late Paleozoic.

First forests

The first representatives of the flora preferred to settle in damp places, so fern forests were often buried in water. The oldest forests were shallow water bodies, similar to swamps, but devoid of a peat layer. It was here that giant ferns grew. Such an ecosystem is often referred to as a forest-reservoir.

First gymnosperms

The most ancient plants on Earth reproduced by spores, which were very vulnerable and could die in adverse environmental conditions. Therefore, the appearance of gymnosperms was the most important step on the path of evolution. Seeds had a number of advantages over spores:

• they had a nutrient supply;
• could survive adverse conditions;
• not afraid of exposure to UV rays and drying;

Mesozoic

At this time, the most important processes take place:

• formation of continents;
• the birth of lakes and seas;
• climate change.

The flora is also undergoing significant changes: giant ferns and club mosses are dying out, and gymnosperms of coniferous trees are spreading. Plant imprints with angiosperm-like features have been found in beds from the early Cretaceous and Jurassic. These were primitive and few forms. Angiosperms became widespread in the Middle Cretaceous, about a hundred million years ago. However, by the end of the period, they had become the dominant form of plant life on Earth. The plant world became more and more similar to what we are used to.

Features of the flora of the Mesozoic era are as follows:

• The appearance of vessels in plants, the functions of which were to conduct water and nutrients.
• A reproductive organ is formed - a flower. Thanks to pollination by insects, flowering plants quickly spread across the continents.
• The predecessors of modern cypresses and pines appear.

We examined which plants are the most ancient on Earth, traced the main paths of the evolutionary development of flora over geological epochs. Despite the fact that the first algae did not leave any traces behind them, their role is enormous: they were able to fill the atmosphere of the planet with oxygen and made it possible for living organisms to reach land.

Plants are an important and ancient link in the history of our planet. The first plants witnessed significant climate change, they existed long before the appearance of man himself.

Plants are unique, they carry many functions to support life on Earth:

• accumulate huge reserves of valuable organic matter and chemical energy,
• release oxygen, protect against ultraviolet radiation,
• reduce the amount of carbon dioxide
• take part in the cycle of mineral and organic substances,
• plants directly affect climate and temperature,
• vegetation is involved in the formation of soils, prevents erosion,
• support the water regime.

Blue-green algae are the primary source of oxygen on our planet. These are bacteria, which, along with higher plants, have the ability to photosynthesis, they outlived all their ancestors and existed when there was no one else. They are found everywhere: in fresh water, in salty seas, on land, and feel great even in the most extreme conditions.

The most ancient deciduous plants on earth are recognized as Selaginella, the history of which has about a hundred million years. "Carpet fern" reproduces by spores, it is the only representative of club mosses, an ancient group of plants common before our era. In height, these plants - up to 10 cm, outwardly resemble ferns and mosses. They are widely used in home floriculture for their interesting appearance.

Ginkgo is a relic plant, many call it a "living fossil". This ancient species of gymnosperms has been preserved since the Ice Age. In their natural habitat, these trees grow up to 40 meters with a trunk diameter of up to 4 m. The life period is about 2000 thousand years. This plant has unique healing properties: the composition of the leaves includes many biologically active compounds (acids, vitamins, oils, minerals). They actively influence the human body, have a therapeutic effect.

The oldest living plant on Earth is the "old tikko" tree. According to scientists, the age of the tree is more than 9550 thousand years. "Old Tikko" is ordinary, it has the status of the oldest existing tree. Spruce grows in the province of Dalarna in the national park Fulufjellet, Sweden. Scientists have determined that the tree was preserved through the process of "cloning", with an old root system, the trunk of the tree is only 600 years old.

Another ancient spruce grows in Herjedalen, Sweden and is called "Old Rasmus". The age of this plant is about 9500 thousand years.

The oldest non-coniferous tree is considered to be the “Patriarch of the Forest”, which grows in Brazil. Its approximate age is about 3000 thousand years. Now it is under protection, because. grows in the zone of active felling.

The oldest ficus grows in Sri Lanka. Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 B.C. For all Buddhists of the world, this tree is sacred and is a place of pilgrimage, because. it is believed that the tree was grown from a shoot planted by the Buddha.

The oldest olive "tree of Cormac" grows on the island of Sardinia in Italy. This plant is about 3000 years old.

The plant, which was listed in the Guinness book for a trunk circumference of more than 60 meters, "Hundred Horse Chestnut", which is 3000 years old. It grows in Sicily.

Fitzroy cypress is an ancient representative of the genus Fitzroy, whose age is 2600 thousand years. Previously, this species was distributed in South America and Patagonia. The currently existing representative of the genus grows on the territory of the Argentine National Park. A tree with a height of 55 meters and a trunk diameter of 2.5 meters. Its age is 2600 thousand years.

The tallest plant is the General Sherman tree, 85 meters tall, living in California National Park. Its age is more than 2500 years, and its mass is about 2,000 thousand tons.

Unfortunately, many ancient plants have not survived to the present, many did not survive due to natural causes. Some of them were cut down for safety reasons, many were poached.
But thanks to the surviving centenarians, we can learn the history of the development of the Earth, trace how the conditions of life on our planet have changed.

Our planet has not always been green. A long time ago, when life was just emerging, the land was empty and lifeless - the first forms chose the oceans as their habitat. But gradually the earth's surface also began to be mastered by various creatures. The first plants on Earth are also the earliest inhabitants of land. What were the ancestors of modern representatives of the flora?

So, imagine the Earth 420 million years ago, in an era called the Silurian period. This date was not chosen by chance - it was at this time, scientists believe, that plants finally began to conquer the land.

For the first time, the remains of cooksonia were discovered in Scotland (the first representative of the terrestrial flora was named after Isabella Cookson, a famous paleobotanist). But scientists suggest that it was distributed throughout the globe.

It was not so easy to get out of the waters of the oceans and start developing the land. To do this, the plants had to literally rebuild the entire body: to acquire a shell resembling a cuticle that prevents drying out, and to acquire special stomata, with which it was possible to regulate evaporation and absorb the substances necessary for life.

Cooksonia, which is a thin green stems, not exceeding five centimeters in height, was considered one of the most developed plants. But the atmosphere of the Earth and its inhabitants were rapidly changing, and the most ancient representative of the flora was losing ground more and more. At the moment, the plant is considered extinct.

The remains of the nematothallus do not even remotely resemble plants - they look more like shapeless black spots. But despite the strange appearance, in terms of development, this plant has gone far ahead of its comrades in its habitat. The fact is that the cuticle of the nematothallus is already more similar to the parts of existing plants - it consisted of formations resembling modern cells, which is why it was called pseudocellular. It should be noted that in other species this shell looked just like a continuous film.

Nematothallus has given a lot of food for thought to the scientific world. Some scientists attributed it to red algae, others were inclined to believe that they had a lichen in front of them. And until now, the mystery of this ancient organism has not been solved.

Rinia and almost all other ancient plants with a vascular structure are classified as rhinophytes. Representatives of this group have not grown on Earth for a long time. However, this fact does not at all prevent scientists from studying these living creatures that once dominated the land - a lot of fossils found in many parts of the world make it possible to judge both the appearance and the structure of such plants.

Rhiniophytes have several important features that allow us to assert that these living creatures are completely different from their descendants. First, their stem was not covered with soft bark: scaly processes grew on it. Secondly, rhinophytes reproduced exclusively with the help of spores, which were formed in special organs called sporangia.

But the most important difference is that these plants did not have a root system as such. Instead, there were root formations covered with "hairs" - rhizoids, with the help of which rhinia absorbed water and substances necessary for life.

This plant was recently considered a representative of the animal world. The fact is that its remains - small, rounded in shape - were originally mistaken for frog or fish eggs, algae, or even eggs of long-extinct shell scorpions. The spores of the parka, found in 1891, put an end to the misconceptions.

The plant lived on our planet about 400 million years ago. This time refers to the beginning of the Devonian period.

Pachiteki remains, as well as the parka fossils found, are small balls (the largest of those discovered has a diameter of 7 millimeters). Quite little is known about this plant: scientists managed to establish only the fact that it consisted of tubules located radially and converging in the center where the nucleus was located.

This plant is a dead end branch of the development of flora, in fact, like parks and rhinia. It was not possible to establish for certain what was the impetus for their emergence, and why they died out. The only reason, according to scientists, is the development of vascular plants, which simply replaced their less developed relatives.

The plants that got out on land chose a completely different path of development. It was thanks to them that the animal world was born and, accordingly, a reasonable form of life appeared - man. And who knows what our planet would look like now if the rhinii, parkas and cooksonia had not decided to explore the land? ..

That's all we have. We are very glad that you have looked at our site and spent some time enriching yourself with new knowledge.

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Plants were indeed the first creatures on our planet. These were blue-green algae, which, as scientists say, created the first atmosphere of the planet, saturated it with oxygen, created the conditions for the existence of subsequent evolutionary experiments. They remained in our world and today, if desired, blue-green algae, or rather, their modern descendants, can be grown and observed.

But they are far from the only plants that can be grown today. There are other species that are worth paying attention to.

The most ancient contemporaries

The most ancient plants were found in China during excavations. Their age may be more than 635 million years. Scientists determined this fact by the depth of the layers. But there are also living modern plants that have reached our days from distant eras. First of all, this is Antarctic moss, which is 5500 years old, and whose ancestors are 43,600 years old, and even more - according to other tests, the age of similar plants was more than 100,000 years. Then humanity had just begun to leave the African continent in search of new lands.

Mosses are not the only ancient plants that have survived to this day. It is also worth bearing in mind the poplars. Unique plants of this species can be found today - in the USA there is a colony of poplars, which constitutes an integral organism of 50 thousand plants. They share a common root system that allows them to constantly reproduce, and this fact makes the plants within the colony immortal, because stepchildren have the same genetic data. The small forest is thought to be around 800,000 years old and all of these plants are descended from a single ancestor.

Other ancient but modern plants

It is believed that the most ancient cedar on our planet is cryptomeria. One of the greatest plants of this species grows in Japan, on Mount Yakushima, and has a height of about 25 meters. The trunk of the plant in girth is 16 meters. This plant has an age of 7 thousand years, although someone claims that the cedar could grow like this in just a couple of millennia. But still, which tree can be considered the most ancient on the planet?

In relatively recent times, experts discovered an old Canadian spruce in Sweden. This relatively young-looking tree turned out to be a shoot of an older plant that grew here in the past, and was at least 9.550 thousand years old. Since a young plant has the same genetic code, it can be considered not a descendant, but a continuation of the same plant, and therefore it has the status of the oldest single spruce in the world. Next to it, but at some distance, there are other similar clones with an age of 5-9 thousand years.

Ancient trees that are not clones

In the 60s, the life of a unique pine named Prometheus, whose age was about 5 thousand years, was cut short. But there is a tree with the name Methuselah, which is almost 3 thousand years old, and this pine is today the oldest on the planet. At least that's how it's supposed to be. According to the antiquity of its origin, the exceptional tree is followed by Firzoya cypress, whose age will soon reach 3700 years. This plant lives among a group of no less ancient individuals with an age of more than 2 thousand years, in a reserve located in southern Chile.

And in Atacama, one of the deserts of the planet, yaret grows - the bush is more than 2 thousand years old. The plant is a close relative of parsley. In Wales, there is a yew that is about 4,000 years old.

Why do some plants live in groups?

In addition to such a phenomenon as symbiosis, the group “residence” of plants can be forced by their origin from a single shoot. Accordingly, those plants that do not reproduce from one shoot or rhizome do not live in groups. If plants have a tendency to emit seeds in a heap, their descendants can also live in groups. So there is no mystery in this.

Thus, very ancient plants live on the planet, clones of old trees, or they themselves. Modern methods make it possible to date the time of their appearance. Plants appeared on the planet first, before other creatures. And the group existence of some species is connected with their mode of reproduction.

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