Chapter 1
The pioneering world of mosses
Chapter 2
Ferns and the age of coal
Chapter 3
Cycads and the dinosaur era
Chapter 4
Ancient plants in our modern world
YOUR GOAL
Master of The oldest plant lineages
Ch 2 · Ferns and the age of coal
artiteacher Coal Formation
Giant ancient ferns, / buried in the mud, / made the coal we burn!
artiteacher Ferns reproduce using tiny spores and undergo an alternate, independent life stage.
artiteacher Ancient fern relatives grew as tall as modern trees, forming massive coal-producing swamps.
BETA
artiteacher Sort ancient ferns, mosses, and cycads to discover how these prehistoric plants became coal.
Fun Fact
Fern fossils: Most of the coal we burn today comes from fossilized swamp forests of giant ferns.
Glossary
coal (noun)
A combustible black or dark brown sedimentary rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter. Vast Carboniferous swamp forests of giant ferns decayed over millions of years to form these massive deposits.
A combustible black or dark brown sedimentary rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter. Vast Carboniferous swamp forests of giant ferns decayed over millions of years to form these massive deposits.
Quiz
What are the microscopic reproductive structures found on the undersides of fern fronds?