What is Horneophyton?
{{italic title}} {{automatic taxobox | taxon = Horneophyton | fossil_range={{Geological range/linked|Early Devonian}} | image = Horneophyton.svg | image_upright = 0.9 | image_caption = Schematic reconstruction of ''Horneophyton lignieri'' to show its growth habit | parent_authority = Kenrick & Crane (1997) | authority = Bargh. & Darrah (1938) | display_parents = 4 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = †''H. lignieri'' <small>(Kidst. & W.H.Lang) Bargh. & Darrah (1938)</small> | synonyms =''Hornea'' <small>Kidst. & W.H.Lang (1920) non Baker</small> }} '''''Horneophyton''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Devonian|early Devonian]] [[fossil]] [[land plant]]s. Its fossils are very common in the [[Rhynie chert]]. Both the [[sporophyte]] and a female [[gametophyte]] have been found as fossils. The sporophyte was about 20 cm tall, and the gametophyte was about 6 cm tall. It is not really a [[vascular plant]]. It had [[vascular tissue]] but the [[cell]]s had thin walls. ''Horneophyton'' had [[plant anatomy|anatomy]] similar to the [[hornwort]]s. It is also similar to the vascular plant ''[[Rhynia]]'' which lived at the same time. It might therefore be a [[missing link]] between the [[Bryophyte]]s like hornworts and the vascular plants like ''Rhynia''. == References == {{reflist}} * {{citation |author=Eggert, D.A. |year=1974 |title=The sporangium of ''Horneophyton lignieri'' (Rhyniophytina) |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=405–413 |doi=10.1002/j.1537-2197.1974.tb12259.x |jstor=2441808 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2441808}} * {{citation |title=The biota of early terrestrial ecosystems: the Rhynie Chert |url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie/horneo.htm |publisher=University of Aberdeen |access-date=6 July 2015}} [[File:Rhynie chert with Horneophyton 1.png|thumb|left|A piece of [[Rhynie chert]] has parts of many ''Horneophyton'' plants. The red circles show the bases of [[sporophyte]]s.]] {{-}} [[Category:Fossil plants]] [[Category:Extinct plants]] {{biology-stub}}