How the Earth Turned Green ─ A Brief 3.8-Billion-Year History of Plants

Long before more infamous creatures such as T. Rex walked the earth, green organisms were the dominant life forms. Evidence suggests that chlorophyll, responsible for coloring these organisms, has been in existence for some 85% of the Earth’s long history. Ancient predecessors of today’s plants and the communities they formed are quite different from much of life today, but at the same time some incredible similarities have been retained.

How the Earth Turned Green traces the history of this taxon--those that are colored by chlorophyll and what many would call plants--from their ancient beginnings to the diversity of green organisms that inhabit the earth today. Using an evolutionary framework, the manuscript addresses questions such as should all green organisms be considered plants? Why do these organisms look the way they do? How are they related to one another and other living organisms? How do they reproduce? How have they changed and diversified over time? And how has the presence of green organisms changed the Earth and its environment?