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Article: Plant Theory Supported by Fossils
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 3, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The first land plants on Earth probably did not simply move from
the sea and set roots into the barren land and start growing. There
was little or no soil, which is made up mostly of decayed plant
matter, to hold moisture and nutrients.
So when the algae and fungi floating in primordial seas began to
colonize the land, a cooperative strategy was needed to survive in
the hostile territory, researchers believe. It involved fungi
attaching themselves to plants so the fungi could be nourished by the
plants and the plants could be given nutrients by the phosphorus- and
nitrogen-gathering fungi through a two-way "valve" or arbuscle.
Probably more than 90 percent of the veined plants living now ...