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Article: Type of algae linked to all land plant life
- Article from:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)
- Article date:
- December 24, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Type of algae linked to all land plant life
By FAYE FLAM
Philadelphia Inquirer
Monday, December 24, 2001
Redwood trees and radicchio, cactus and carnations all owe their
existence to a single, ancestral land plant -- a pioneer that emerged
from a pond more than 470 million years ago and colonized what was
then a desolate, nearly lifeless landscape, scientists believe.
Richard McCourt, a botanist from the Academy of Natural Sciences
in Philadelphia, said he and colleagues have identified this mother
of all land plants as a close cousin of the stonewort. Stonewort, a
type of algae, still thrives in freshwater streams and ponds around
the country.
McCourt and colleagues from the University of ...