Evolutionary history of plants foliage consisted of fern-like fronds, although they were not closely related to ferns. The oldest fossil evidence of seed plants is of Late Devonian age, and they appear to have evolved out of an earlier group known as the progymnosperms. These early seed plants ranged from trees to small, rambling shrubs; like most early progymnosperms, they were woody plants with fern-like foliage. They all bore ovules, but no cones, fruit or similar. While it is difficult to track the early evolution of seeds, the lineage of the seed ferns may be traced from the simple trimerophytes through homosporous Aneurophytes. This
The Power of Movement in Plants the general public." A lead article in the London "Times" on 20 November 1880, generated notes from acquaintances and friends. The book received critical review by botanist Dr. Julius Wiesner of the University of Vienna. In the Preface to the Da Capo Press Edition of the original book, Pickard asserts that "If asked to choose the scientific report which most clearly marks the beginning of the modern study of plant growth, a great many botanists would select Charles Darwin's "The Power of Movement in Plants"." She reviews the influence of Darwin's techniques here on later research by Boysen Jensen, Frits