Rhynia

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/rhynia

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii
2. What is the geological epoch?Early Devonian (Pragian stage, approximately 410-407 million years ago)
3. What is Rhynia and why is it important?Rhynia is an ancient plant that lived about 400 million years ago. It was the first plant to have true vascular tissue, which helped plants move from water to land.
4. How did Rhynia transport water and food inside its body?Rhynia had special tissues called xylem and phloem that acted like tiny pipes. They carried water, minerals, and sugars throughout the plant.

Vascular Tissue: Specialized plant tissues (xylem and phloem) responsible for the transport of water, minerals, and sugars.
Eutracheophytes: A monophyletic group encompassing all extant vascular plants, including seed plants and ferns.
Diplohaplontic: A life cycle involving both diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) multicellular stages.
Sporophyte Generation: The diploid phase in a plant's life cycle that produces spores through meiosis.