There's more than one way to build a tree, 374m-year-old fossils reveal | Susannah Lydon

Fossils from China show that evolution found an alternative – and ultimately overly-complicated – way to increase the size of the earliest tree trunksIn the world ofknee-high land plants 400m years ago, the battle to grow tall was won by plants which found biomechanical solutions to fight gravity. Vascular plants had already evolved a plumbing system, allowing them to transport water, and the food produced by photosynthesis, around the plant. The water-conducting cells in the xylem – dead, hollow and stiffened by the polymer lignin – also afforded them some structural support. But there are limits to the height that a plant can grow with a stem of fixed girth.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Fossils Plants Science Biology Evolution Trees and forests Environment Source Type: news