An extinct plant from the Devonian period that combined features of both ferns and seed plants, representing an important evolutionary transition.
From Greek 'archaeo-' (ancient) + 'pteris' (fern). Named by scientists in the 19th century to describe fossil plants that showed features of both primitive ferns and more advanced seed-bearing plants.
Archaeopteris is absolutely crucial to understanding plant evolution because it's basically a 'missing link' plant—it has the fronds of a fern but the roots and wood structure of seed plants, showing how plants conquered the land!
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