Floras Before Forests: fossil insights into plant origins

We are pleased to announce this year’s Autumn Science Lecture Series which will run between October and December. Across five online lectures, guest speakers will discuss the fascinating subject of paleobotany, exploring plant evolution and prehistoric ecosystems.  

In this online event we will be joined by Dr Paul Kenrick, principal researcher in paleobotany at the Natural History Museum. In his lecture, Paul will discuss ‘Floras Before Forests: fossil insights into plant origins’.  

Lecture details:

The story of plants on land stretches back over half a billion years, with the fossil record offering a window into this deep past. This lecture traces that history in reverse—beginning today and travelling more than 380 million years back to the world’s first forests, a milestone that reshaped Earth. Fossils across the UK reveal earlier, simpler plants, many lacking leaves or roots, offering clues to how such structures first evolved. The Rhynie Chert in Scotland preserves extraordinary detail, from the rise of vascular tissues to the earliest plant–fungus partnerships. These discoveries illuminate the origins of our green world, yet key questions remain—most notably, what was the last common ancestor of all land plants?

Other speakers within the lecture series include: 

▫️9th Oct| Dr Sandy Hetherington, evolutionary paleobotanist from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.  

▫️6th Nov | Dr James Clark, prize fellow and lecturer at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath.  

▫️20th Nov | Professor Jennifer McElwain FRS, Professor of Botany at Trinity College Dublin and Director of Trinity College Botanic Garden.  

▫️4th Dec | Dr Julia Gravendyck, lecturer in systematic botany at University of Bonn.