Wattieza

Wattieza is the earliest known tree.

Their fossils were found in New York State.
They stood 8 m (34 ft) or more tall, and looked like the modern tree ferns.Stein W.E. et al 2007. "Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth's earliest forest stumps at Gilboa", Nature 446:904-907.

They lived in the mid-Devonian, about 385 million years ago. They were cladoxylopsids, close relatives of modern ferns and horsetails.

The crown of Wattieza, discovered in 2005, was united with its root and trunk, known since 1870. The fossilized grove of "Gilboa stumps" had been described as Eospermatopteris, though the complete plant remained unknown.

Wattieza had fronds rather than leaves, and reproduced with spores.

References

 CNN.com: Oldest tree had fronds, not leaves.

Category:Extinct plants
Category:Fossil plants
Category:Trees
Category:Pteridophyta
Category:Plant taxonomy