Paleozoic Era

The Paleozoic Era (539–252 Ma) is in the Phanerozoic Eon, occurring after the Neoproterozoic Era, and before the Mesozoic Era. It is a time for great plant innovation and evolution. During this time land plants evolve and emerge from water, begin as lowly moss-sized plants, and become towering trees by the end of the Devonian Period. Every major group of plants evolves during this time: mosses, liverworts, hornworts, clubmosses, ferns, horsetails, and seed plants. It is a time when plants evolve structures that are commonplace today: branching stems, roots, leaves, wood, and seeds.