Rhyniophyta were early vascular plants that lived during the Devonian period. They lacked leaves, seeds, and flowers, instead having simple shoots that branched from a creeping axis and sometimes ended in spore capsules. Rhynia was a single-species genus from this group that had a creeping stem and upright aerial shoots bearing oval sporangia. Cooksonia was an early genus from the Rhyniophyta discovered in Wales, dating back to around 400 million years ago in the late Silurian period.

1. Rhyniophyta
Damnjanović Ivana

2. Introduction

They have a key position in the history of
life.

3. Characteristics

They had simple shoots
rise from a creeping axis.

These shoots or stems
often branched in a simple
manner, forking into two,
and then into two again,
and sometimes the shoots
terminated in spore
capsules called sporangia.

4. Characteristics

These ancient plants lacked leaves, seeds, and
flowers.

Instead of roots they had horizontal stems,
connected with the soil by root hairs. The whole
plant was generally less than 50 cm in height.

5. Rhynia

Rhynia is a single-species genus of Devonian
vascular plants.

6. Characteristics

Rhynia was a simple, leafless plant with a
creeping, horizontal stem from which the
upright, aerial shoots arose.

The tips of fertile shoots bore oval-shaped
sporangia

7. Zosterophyllum

9. Cooksonia

The oldest representatives of the Rhyniophyta
belonged to the genus Cooksonia, which was
originally discovered in Wales in deposits from the
late Silurian (approximately 400 million years ago).