I have seen numerous documentaries and read a lot of scientific articles about the evolution of animals, but never once come across the evolution of trees. Were the first trees tiny shrubs? How long did it take for trees to start growing very tall?
-
The first trees were the tree ferns. The vascular plants appeared during the Devonian period (420-360 million years ago), and by the end of the Devonian, tree ferns, with true woody stems were well established. Competition for sunlight is a driving force for height.