Cooksonia plant fossils from the Bertie formation of Canada

Cooksonia is one of the first recognized vascular plants. That means it had a system that allowed water and nutrients to be distributed internally. This is an important step for a plant if you are going to exist outside of a watery environment. The specimens below are individual pieces of what could be C. hemisphaerica likely before they fully produced their sporangia.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Specimen #3

All three specimens came from the Bertie formation (upper Silurian, Pridoli stage) in Ridgemont quarry, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada.