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An earlier appearance for the first land plants

Pollen fossils could be remains of first modern land plants

By Solmaz Barazesh

- More than 2 years ago

Newly discovered fossilized pollen spores suggest that modern plant life evolved earlier than previously thought, researchers report online April 17 in Science.

EARLY SPORES Fossilized ornamented trilete spores found in a rock core drilled from northern Saudi Arabia could be the earliest evidence of vascular land plants.