Early land plants

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Abstract
After three decades of vigorous research on the Siluro-Devonian floras neither interest nor productivity is slackening. Some newer developments and comments on the two previous papers are listed here to highlight the varied disciplines and approaches that are being brought to bear on Silurian-early Devonian floras. (i) Banks (1981) reported wounds, probably inflicted by chewing microarthropods, in axes of Psilophyton dawsonii repaired by the form ation of a periderm . Unreported evidence indicates wounding and repair stimulated by piercing and sucking activity of other animals. These observations complement the work of Kevan et al. (1975) on arthropods and damage to plants that are found in the Rhynie Chert, and that of Shear et al . (1984) on a new terrestrial fauna from eastern New York. Interest in plant-anim al interrelationships will attract a new group of scholars to the study of Siluro-Devonian plants. Particularly im portant will be the m aceration of large quantities of rock. (ii) Stubblefield & Banks (1983) found oomycetous fungi within cells in the cellularly perm ineralized aerial axes of Psilophyton dawsonii . Rayner (1983) reported apparent fungal bodies in the spines on compression specimens of Sawdonia ornata . These reports supplem ent that by Kevan et al . (1975) on the fungi in the Rhynie Chert. Whether the fungi were parasitic or saprophytic, or were mycorrhizal as suggested by Pirozynski & Malloch (1975), is unclear on the basis of present evidence. Sherwood-Pike & Gray (1985) have isolated hyphae and spores of higher fungi from macerates of mid to late Silurian rocks from Gotland. Other fragments appear to be coprolites of arthropods that include fragments of hyphae. They suggest that fungi and microarthropods may have served as terrestrial decomposers during late Silurian. Pratt et al. (1978) reported septate fungi in earliest Silurian. These introductory works imply a productive future in the study of Siluro-Devonian terrestrial fungi.

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