About 200 million years after the broader separation of animals, plants, and fungi, red and green algae evolved from a common ancestor. Green algae later gave rise to land plants, with all land plants descending from green algae around 475 million years ago.

Plant Ancestors Split From Fungi-Animal Ancestors 1.65 bya
Multicell plant ancestors start 1.6 bya
True Plants Emerge 470 mya

Prokaryotic Life

3.73 Billion Years Ago (after LUCA)

Membrane and metabolic diversity.

Archaea Diverge

3.73 Billion Years Ago (shortly after LUCA)

Ether-linked membranes and distinct genetic machinery

Touch: Life Learns to Feel Force

~3.72 Billion Years Ago (after prokaryotes)

Mechanical sensitivity to pressure and membrane stretch

The First True Eukaryotes

2.4 Billion Years Ago (+/- 300 million years)

Bacterial Endosymbiosis: Origin of Eukaryotes

~2.4 Billion years ago (+/- 100 million)

Bacteria are added to eukaryote ancestor cells

Protozoa Evolve

2 Billion Years Ago (+/- 100 million years)

Nucleus and internal organelles

LECA: Likely Sexual Reproduction

~1.75 billion years ago (+/- 50 million)

Last Eukaryote Common Ancestor

Plant Ancestors Split from Animal and Fungi Ancestors

1.65 Billion Yeas Ago (+/- 50 million)

Life that later leads to these kingdoms separates.

Bikonts: Plant Ancestors Split Off Again (Front-Pull Pioneers)

~1.55 Billion Years Ago (+/- 5 million)

Two "Anterior" Flagella - plant rowboats

Red-Green Algae Ancestors Split

1.5 Billion Years Ago (+/- 100 million years)

Chloroplast refinement, chlorophyll variants

Embryophytes: First True Plants

470 Million Years Ago (+/- 10 million)

Early water transport

Fungal Underground Alliance

~450 Million years ago (+/- 10 million)

Arbuscular mycorrhizae (Glomeromycota symbiosis)

First True Trees: Spore Reproduction

385 Million Years Ago (+/- 5 million years)

Secondary growth wood and deep roots

Conifers branch off

~308 million years ago (+/- 5 million)

Naked seeds in cones (gymnosperm reproduction)

Ginkgo biloba-like Trees: True Leaves

270 Million Years Ago (+/- 5 million years)

Efficient vascular networks inside leaves

Ginkgo biloba — A Living Fossil in My Backyard

ginko, leaf, ginko tree, ginko leaf, nature, medicinal plant, green, tree, ginko, ginko, ginko, ginko, ginko, ginko tree

~270 million years ago (± 20 million years)

Increased light capture area

Pine Needles Evolve

252 MYA (+/- 5 million years)

Needle morphology and resin canals

Modern Trees: Modern Leaves

145 Million Years Ago (+/- 5 million years)

Rapid vascular transport

The First Flowers

By 130 Million Years Ago

Molecular analysis might push this back to 149 or maybe even 256 mya.

Redwood Lineage Emerges

~95 Million Years Ago (+/- 5 million)

Tall, fire-resistant, long-lived conifer specialization.