A History of Plants in Fifty Fossils

BOOKLIST Starred Review. Paleobotanist Kenrick of Natural History Museum, London, delivers an eye-opening, spellbindingly long view of plant life on Earth, from the first evidence of oxidation byphotosynthetic organisms some 2.6 billion years ago through 465-million-year-old algae, the firstland plants (425 million years ago), the first trees (380 million years), fully open grasslands (5.3 million years), the domestication of grain (10,000 years), and the recent rejuvenation of 31,000-year-old seeds into normal plants, growing flowers and fruits, and setting new seed. Most entries are illustrated with a full-page image of their related fossil, opposite a succinct, deeply informed precis of the relevant plant's terrain, climate, and interaction with the contemporary flora and fauna that surrounded it. Kenrick describes the mind of a 407-million-year-old fungus, sometimes a pathogen, trying to enter the tissue of a plant, which would repel it by sealing it offor encasing it: Other fungi appear to be able to enter plants without provoking an immuneresponse. Their hyphae easily slide between cells weaving their way into the interior. Once theyare a few cells deep, they change tack to form distinctive branched or coiled structures withincells. Full-color fossil photos (only black-and-white images were available for review) promise to be captivating.