Small septate hyphal filaments and filamentous mats. No evidence of true vascular tissues has been recovered. One of the earliest inhabitors of land may have been the lichen, an organism that is the symbiotic relationship between a green alga and a fungus. These organisms today colonize bare rock surfaces and are responsible for the breakdown of lithic materials via biochemical weathering. The earliest known lichen has recently been reported from the Early Devonian Rhynie Chert .
More evidence exists for the identification of brakelands.
Brakelands are found as early as Late Silurian and continue into the Carboniferous. Evidence of macroinvertebrate bioturbation exists in these oxidized calcareous soils. Rooting structures are pinnate, cross-cut bedding and are found horizontal along bedding surfaces. Vascular cells are interpreted from casts of the internal anatomy. Possible that Silurian sediments were not lithified and Permian plants rooted.