Plants, Fungi, and the Colonization of Land

Migration onto Land

• Continents subjected to flooding and receding of seas throughout geologic time.

• Natural selection could have favored algae that could survive periods of being unsubmerged.

• Eventually, some species may have accumulated adaptations allowing permanent life out of water

Land vs. Water Environment

• Differences– Support– Access to minerals– Photosynthesis– Reproduction

Plant Structures

Sporangia

Plant Evolutionary History 1

Plant Evolutionary History 2

Alternation of Generations

Mosses

Ferns

GymnospermsM

F

Gymnosperm Life Cycle

Angeosperms

Flower Structure

Angeosperm Life Cycle

Wind Dispersal

Attach to Animals

Eaten By Animals

Mutualism

Fungi

• Developed closely alongside plants– Probably went on land with plants– Plants and other life rely on them

• Heterotrophic

• Structurally and reproductively different from all other organisms

• Primarily multicellular

Typical Fungal Structure

Bread Mold

Fungal life cycle

Lichens