**1. Evolution of Embryophytes:**
– Embryophytes evolved from streptophytes pre-adapted to land conditions.
– Streptophytes invaded land during the Ordovician, initiating land plant evolution.
– Molecular evidence supports the relatedness of groups within embryophytes.
– Land plants evolved from streptophytes due to adaptations to environmental conditions on land.
– Present-day embryophytes form a distinct clade.
**2. Characteristics and Diversity of Embryophytes:**
– Embryophytes are primarily adapted for terrestrial life.
– They have specialized reproductive organs and complex multicellular structures.
– Embryophytes conduct photosynthesis using chlorophyll a and b.
– Living embryophytes include hornworts, liverworts, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
– Embryophytes show diversity in habitats from tropical to arctic regions.
**3. Significance and Impact of Embryophytes:**
– Embryophytes are crucial photoautotrophs in terrestrial ecosystems.
– They play a vital role in carbon fixation and oxygen release through photosynthesis.
– Embryophytes’ evolution impacted atmospheric CO2 levels and global climate.
– Understanding embryophytes’ adaptations aids in studying plant evolution and ecology.
– The alternation of generations in embryophytes contributes to genetic diversity.
**4. Classification and Phylogeny of Embryophytes:**
– The hemitracheophytes unite bryophytes and tracheophytes.
– Modern plant systematics provide valuable insights into plant classification.
– Chloroplast phylogeny confirms the monophyly of bryophytes.
– Plastid phylogenomic analysis traces a billion years of green plant evolution.
– Fossils play a crucial role in understanding plant phylogeny.
**5. Key Contributions and Research Findings on Embryophytes:**
– The concept of embryophytes revolutionized botanical classification.
– Large-scale phylogenomic analyses confirm the monophyly of bryophytes.
– The Posongchong flora contributes to understanding vascular plant diversification.
– Xyloglucan evolution is linked to the terrestrialization of green plants.
– Land plant evolution landmarks are identified on the path to terrestrial life.
The embryophytes (/ˈɛmbriəˌfaɪts/) are a clade of plants, also known as Embryophyta (/ˌɛmbriˈɒfətə, -oʊˈfaɪtə/) or land plants. They are the most familiar group of photoautotrophs that make up the vegetation on Earth's dry lands and wetlands. Embryophytes (/ˈɛmbriəˌfaɪts/) have a common ancestor with green algae, having emerged within the Phragmoplastophyta clade of freshwater charophyte green algae as a sister taxon of Charophyceae, Coleochaetophyceae and Zygnematophyceae. Embryophytes consist of the bryophytes and the polysporangiophytes. Living embryophytes include hornworts, liverworts, mosses, lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms (flowering plants). Embryophytes have diplobiontic life cycles.
| Land plants Temporal range: (Spores from Dapingian (early Middle Ordovician))
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Streptophyta |
| Clade: | Embryophytes Engler, 1892 |
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Traditional groups: | |
| Synonyms | |
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The embryophytes are informally called "land plants" because they thrive primarily in terrestrial habitats (despite some members having evolved secondarily to live once again in semiaquatic/aquatic habitats), while the related green algae are primarily aquatic. Embryophytes are complex multicellular eukaryotes with specialized reproductive organs. The name derives from their innovative characteristic of nurturing the young embryo sporophyte during the early stages of its multicellular development within the tissues of the parent gametophyte. With very few exceptions, embryophytes obtain biological energy by photosynthesis, using chlorophyll a and b to harvest the light energy in sunlight for carbon fixation from carbon dioxide and water in order to synthesize carbohydrates while releasing oxygen as a byproduct.