Dawsonia (plant) lamella – chains of small cells on the upper surface of the leaves analogous to the mesophyll cells of vascular plant leaves. They increase the surface area of cell walls available for CO uptake, while at the same time maintaining layers of moist air between lamellae, reducing water loss. Lamella margins have a surface wax layer which prevents water from flooding into the interlamellar spaces. Dawsonia (plant) Dawsonia is a genus of acrocarpous mosses. "Dawsonia", along with other members of the order Polytrichales, are taller than most mosses and have thicker leaves. Their sporophytes have conducting systems analogous to those
Plant their diversification are displayed in remarkable detail in an early Devonian fossil assemblage from the Rhynie chert. This chert preserved early plants in cellular detail, petrified in volcanic springs. By the middle of the Devonian Period most of the features recognised in plants today are present, including roots, leaves and secondary wood, and by late Devonian times seeds had evolved. Late Devonian plants had thereby reached a degree of sophistication that allowed them to form forests of tall trees. Evolutionary innovation continued in the Carboniferous and later geological periods and is ongoing today. Most plant groups were relatively unscathed by