Woody plants

Lignophytes

The lignophytes are vascular land plants that produce robust wood through a cambium. The origin of the cambium, a structure which produces wood and thus girth in a plant, allowed plants to grow into trees on the Earth. During the Devonian radiation, the first woody plants arose on the land in a group called the progymnosperms, and trees have been successful wherever water is plentiful.

Ecology & Form

  • Plants with xylem produced from a bifacial (2-faced) vascular cambium

    • Secondary xylem (wood) produced toward the inside (toward the pith)

    • Secondary phloem produced toward the outside (periphery)

  • During the Devonian Period, plants evolved the ability to produce wood, also known as secondary xylem

  • All lignophytes have the ability to produce secondary xylem or wood, or lost this ability over time (e.g. waterlilies, monocots)

Geologic Age

Diversity