Why are there so many plants? New research reveals two key phases in Earth’s past

By Kale Sniderman, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
Chris Mays, Lecturer in Palaeontology, University College Cork; Natural History Museum Vienna
Greg Jordan, Associate Professor, University of Tasmania

Plants are crucial for life on land. The energy they capture from the Sun underpins the existence of almost all land-based animals, fungi and bacteria.

In particular, flowering plants – the most productive and diverse group of land plants – dominate most ecosystems on Earth. There are at least 350,000 species, and they’re vital for capturing carbon dioxide from the air.

Over millions of years, flowering plants have evolved complex relationships with…

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