1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910787224803321

Autore

Essig Frederick B.

Titolo

Plant life : a brief history / / Frederick B. Essig

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford, England : , : Oxford University Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

0-19-936265-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (281 p.)

Disciplina

581.3/8

Soggetti

Plants - Evolution

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Plant Life; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Artwork Sources; Introduction; 1 The Origin of Photosynthesis; 2 Eukaryotic Plant Life; 3 Plants Invade the Land; 4 Vascular Plants and the Rise of Trees; 5 Seeds and the Gymnosperms; 6 Darwin's Abominable Mystery; 7 Adaptations for Pollination and Seed Dispersal; 8 The Dicotyledonous Grade; 9 The Monocots; Epilogue; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, described the evolutionary origin of flowering plants as an ""abominable mystery."" Flowering plants - which appeared abruptly during the late Cretaceous Period - the origins of photosynthesis, and the early evolution of land plants are some of earth's most mysterious breakthroughs. The first seed plants appear in the fossil record about 350 million years ago, and flowering plants first appear approximately 120 million years ago, but the transitions between these major forms of plant life remain obscure. Prior to each breakthrough was a lo