大象传媒

Earth was once a vast, empty land. The only sounds were the whisper and whine of the wind, the fall of splitting rocks, the work of water. There was oxygen in the air - and opportunities for life on land, for primitive plants. Sure enough, along the banks of rivers in what was to become Wales and by lakesides in Scotland-to-be, plants were creeping on to land. Because they developed a waterproof, waxy coating outside and a plumbing system inside, they could not only draw up water and nutrients from the earth, but deliver them aloft without losing them to the drying wind. Spores could also be released to the same wind to disperse more of their kind. And their fossilised remains make Britain a very special place in the story of how the first plants moved on to land.