This document discusses the evolution and classification of plants based on fossil evidence. It begins with an introduction to paleobotany, the study of plant fossils. The earliest plant fossils are blue-green algae from 3.1 billion years ago. Plants evolved from aquatic to land-dwelling forms, developing features like cuticles, vascular tissue and reproductive structures. Plant fossils are grouped into non-vascular and vascular categories, with the non-vascular division containing algae and fungi and the vascular division containing bryophytes, pteropsida and later gymnosperms and angiosperms. The document concludes that plant fossils are important for reconstructing paleoclimates and tracing the evolutionary history of plants.

1. SEMINAR ON

2.  INTRODUCTION
 CLASSIFICATION OF PLANT KINGDOM
 GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE
 NON-VASCULAR PLANTS
 THALLOPHYTA
 BRYOPHYTA
 FOSSIL ALGAE AND ITS TYPES
 FOSSIL FUNGI AND ITS TYPES
 VASCULAR PLANTS
 ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION PATTERN OF PLANTS
 CONCLUISON
 REFERENCES

3.  The study of the plant life of the geological past is called
Paleobotany. The earliest plant fossils, bacteria, blue green algae
occurring in Pre-Cambrian rock are 3.1 billion years old. The
earliest plants were exclusively aquatic. During evolution these
aquatic plants migrated towards land.
 As the conditions on land are quite different from that of aquatic,
various changes/adoptations took place in morphology as well as
anatomy of the land plants. The major changes being development
of a cuticle or epidermis, Vascular tissue system, root and shoot
system and protective covering around the reproductive bodies.
 Our knowledge of the plant life of the past has been assembled
from the fragmentary fossil remains preserved in stratified rocks.
The earliest plant fossils recorded in the past are algae which have
been in existence since Precambrian..

4. Non-vascular
Plant kingdom
Vascular
Bryophyta
Algae Fungi Liverwort Mosses
Psilopsida
Lycopsida
Sphenopsida
Pteropsida
Non-vascular VascularNon-vascular VascularNon-vascular VascularNon-vascular VascularNon-vascular
Thallophyta BryophytaThallophyta
Psilopsida
BryophytaThallophyta Lycopsida
Psilopsida
BryophytaThallophyta
Sphenopsida
Lycopsida
Psilopsida
BryophytaThallophyta
Pteropsida
Sphenopsida
Lycopsida
Psilopsida
BryophytaThallophyta
Algae Fungi LiverwortAlgae Fungi MossesLiverwortAlgae Fungi

6. Horse Tail

8. Blue-Green algae
( Precambrian to Recent)

9. 1) Cyanophyta EX: Blue-Green algae.
2) Chlorophyta Ex: Green algae.
3) Rhodophyta Ex: Red algae.
4) Phaeophyta Ex: Brown algae.
5) Diatomaceae Ex: Diatoms.
6) Chrysophyta Ex: Yellow-Green algae.
7) Euglenophyta Ex: Euglenoids.
Classification of Fossil Algae Belongs to phylum
as:
Phylum

10. Fungi
(Devonian to Recent)

11. Phylum
1) Schizomycophyta Ex:Bacteria.
2) Myxomycophyta Ex:Slime moulds
3) Euglinomycophyta Ex: True fungi etc..,
Classification of Fossil Fungi Belongs to phylum as:

12. Bryophytes
(Devonian to Recent )

13. Liverwort
Mosses

14. Vascular plant

15. Polysporangiophyte
(Upper Silurian to Recent)

16. Lepidodendron
(Silurian and Lower
Devonian)

17. Sphenopsida
(Lower Devonian to
Recent)

18. Pteropsida
(Devonian to
Recent)

19. Rhacopteris
(Cretaceous)

20. Ginkgoales
(Devonian to recent)
These are woody plants increase in birth by
secondary growth. The embryo is
sporophyte and the seed is naked. It can be
further sub class into three types they are ….
1 pteridospermae
2 cycadophyta
3 coniferophyta
b) Gymnospermae

21. Angiospermae
(Early Cretaceous to Recent)
The flowering plants or angiosporms
appeared during jurassic and became
dominant throughout late mesozoic to
present day. These plant bear whorls which
become seeds. The seeds are enclosed in a
seed care, fruit wall, leaves, trunk, flowers,
fruits, seeds and pollens are preserved as
fossils. It is sub devided into two types
1 monocotyledon
2 palmoxylon
C) Angiospermae

22. Monocotyledoneae
(Early Cretaceous to Recent)
Palmoxylon
(Early Cretaceous to Recent)

24. CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION
 Plant Fossils are significant in the Reconstruction of Plant
Life
Ex: Lepidodendron, Calamites, Sigillaria etc.,
 Plant Fossils helps in Reconstruction of Paleoclimate,
Ex: Paleoecological studies.
 Correlation between Continents to Continents.
 High Resolution Sequence Analysis .
Ex: Small cycles of environmental changes could be
studied.
 Plant evolutions record is yet to complete.
 Paleoecological studies through plant remains.

25. References:References:
I. A.C. Seward (1966) , Plant Life Through Ages , Second
Edition,Hafner Publishing Company , Pp 1-4,10,60-73,514-534.
II. A.Lee Mc Alester (1968) , The History of Life, First Edition,Prentice-
Hall of India Pvt Ltd,Pp 82-100.
III. Chester A.Arnold (1947),An Introduction to Paleontology, TMH
Edition, Tata Mc Graw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd Pp 1-13, 41-61,333-
401.
IV.Dr.P.C.Jain (2006) and Dr M.S. Anan Tharaman,
Paleontology(Paleobiology) Evolution and Animal Distribution, Sixth
Edition,Vishal Publishing Co. Pp 83-106.
V. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Morphology and Evolution of Fossil
Plants First Edition, Hafner Publishing Company, Pp10-182.
Internet Sources:
I. www.Paleobotany.com
II. www.Wikipedia.com