Archaeopteris, the first modern tree
A tree with real wood, real leaves and deep roots spreads across every continent.
- When
- Known to
- ± 5 million years
- Era
- Devonian, Paleozoic
Archaeopteris appears in the Middle Devonian and becomes the dominant tree worldwide. Unlike its predecessors it has flat photosynthetic leaves, true wood, and root systems reaching a metre or more into the ground. It grows to thirty metres and forms the first forests recognisable as such. Its deep roots accelerate weathering and its litter feeds rivers, changing global carbon and nutrient cycles.